A Pine in Time (Discontinued)
by Dahmiel
Summary: Oscar was a farm boy that was unlucky enough to be the next incarnation of Ozpin. Now, he may have a chance in averting a global wide tragedy and calamity. What happens when you pair Jaune's aura amplification semblance and Ozpin's 'time semblance' (or magic)? You get a farm boy thrown into the past. Not far back, thank gods... [Shipping will occur] (Image by BooTV10 - Reddit User)
1. Chapter 1

_**There just isn't enough of Oscar's**_** fanfiction.**

**I will be blunt. I am not that great at writing despite years of writing in English classes. Grammar is not my strongest point, and I sometimes overlook some things since I don't have an editor.**

**Anyway, future Oscar is from... Volume 6 and onward. I may delay some updates for a while to see what he can do once Volume 7 is up. **

**Oscar gets sent back to around RWBY Volume 1, EP 16; just into the beginning of Volume 2. Also note that I will try my best to implement almost all of the canon sources into this story. I don't entirely want the story to feel... Off. Not until later on.**

**With that said, enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_So, this is Vale… Well, the Kingdom of Vale and the city called Vale. Or was it the City of Vale? I wished studied a little bit more before I left the farm…_

Oscar weaved his way through the streets of Vale. The tanned boy with freckles took in the sight of the half-asleep city. His cane, or Ozpin's cane, was strapped to his dark red belt that wrapped around his waist and olive coat.

The sky was growing dark, and he would like to find a place to stay for the night. There weren't many people out on this street currently, and Oscar certainly wasn't taking any chances staying out late when there are major criminals lurking in Vale.

A handful came into mind: Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, Cinder Fall… And her underlings. Can't forget about them.

Anyway, tomorrow is the day where he would try to meet Ozpin and by extension; Team RWBY and JNPR.

Will they believe his story?

Maybe…

Oscar still retained some of Ozpin's knowledge during the time when the wizard was residing in his mind. Perhaps he can use that knowledge to convince Ozpin and his 'future friends' that he is from the future… Somewhat.

How did this scenario occur? A simple equation.

Jaune's aura amplification _plus_ Ozpin's time power thing or something… _equals_ **future** Oscar replacing **past **Oscar _physically_.

In other words, time travel.

Weirdness aside his weapon, clothing, lien, fitness, and training is retained at least. However, it appears that he had lost some of Ozpin memories during the moment that led up to this scenario. Like how Ozpin's cane has some sort of trick that maybe store time?

Yup, don't know.

Sighing, Oscar made a right at the intersection while his mind wandered off to the farm and his aunt.

_I hope I left enough lien for Aunt. Pray to Oum she doesn't use it to hunt me down, or find out how I got it…_

It was the middle of the night when he arrived in the past or more accurately; replaced his past self. In any case, his aunt was not aware of his situation. Before Oscar left, he wrote a note to his Aunt thanking her for everything and left behind a stack of lien that should cover the cost of housing a pubescent boy.

Well, the amount he left behind is enough to buy at least an acre of land. As for how he got the lien…

He and his 'companions in the future' stumbled across a stockpile of stolen lien in a remote part of Mistral. They made off with a 'small' amount. Of course, Qrow somehow blew it all on alcohol…

Who knew that encountering a criminal syndical stockpile would come in handy?

_Wait… Wouldn't future lien be considered counterfeit?! B-but, it worked when I purchased a ride here. _

Oscar isn't entirely familiar on how anti-counterfeit measure work for lien, and no issue came up when he was using it. Still it did not sit well with him that his Aunt might get in trouble.

Hopefully he can find a way to contact her soon…

An explosion shook Oscar out of his thoughts as black clouds erupted from the docks. Eerie silence descended across the street as people watch the cloud slowly dissipated.

"Oh boy."

Ruby talked about a battle that took place in the docks of Vale. Apparently Blake, and another faunus named Sun tried to investigate a Dust robbery that was linked to the White Fang. The infamous, flamboyant criminal and thief named Roman Torchwick was spearheading the operation with the White Fang in as support.

If he can remember, Ruby manage to locate Blake due to an explosion that came from the docks. Well, she and a robot friend name Penny.

That part was still weird for Oscar, the robot or android thing. Not that he has anything against them.

_Maybe I won't have to wait for tomorrow…_

The streets weren't that crowded, but it did slow Oscar's attempt to get to the docks as people rushed in the opposite direction away from the violence and destruction.

…

"Nyagh!"

Roman cried out as Blake struck him across the chest with her Gambol Shroud, sending him flying back.

Landing on the floor, Roman gritted his teeth before smirking at the hanging metal crate above the monkey and cat faunus. Picking himself up, he leveled his cane, Melodic Cudgel, and fired at the wires supporting the crate.

The two faunus noticed the descending shadow and jumped out of the way as the crate crashed onto the solid ground.

The monkey faunus, Sun; rolled away from the impact but lost his balance. His attempt to pick himself up was met with Roman aiming his cane at Sun.

A smug smile was forming on Roman's face but was interrupted by a high pitch voice.

"Hey!"

Turning to his left he saw an annoying brat and her large red scythe standing on top of the roof.

"Oh, hello Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman snarked, which Ruby ignored.

An orange hair girl in gray and green clothing slowly walked up behind 'Red'.

"Ruby? Are these people your friends?" Asked the orange hair girl, Ruby turned her head towards the girl.

"Penny, get back!"

Roman narrowed his eyes and leveled Melodic Cudgel at Ruby, pulling the trigger.

"NO!"

Oscar burst out onto the scene, lunged towards Roman, and slammed his cane onto Melodic Cudgel throwing its aim to the floor.

"Wha-" Was all Roman could utter before the blast sent him flying and screaming into the air.

Everybody present watched as the infamous criminal was sent sprawling face first onto the ground. His hat slowly floating down a few feet away from him.

"Pfft!" Sun held back his laughter as Roman hastily picked himself up and with an angry expression.

The explosion barely made a dent to his aura, but it massively wounded his pride. Especially when Roman saw who threw his aim off.

"Another brat? Younger than Red there? These kids just keep getting younger!"

Roman hooked his hat with Melodic Cudgel and placed it firmly on his head, while Oscar took up a defensive stance and faced Roman. The flamboyant thief rolled his eyes and glared at the White Fang grunts that were idling around with somewhat amused expression.

"Why are you animals lazing around? Get them!"

One of the grunts clicked his tongue, raised his rifle, and pointed at Oscar only to be blasted from behind by Ruby's Crescent Rose in its sniper form. Twirling her scythe, Ruby aimed behind her and fired, launching herself with the recoil towards the battlefield.

To her shock, Penny decided to jump along with her.

"Penny?! What are you-?"

"Don't worry Ruby! I'm combat ready!"

Chaos erupted as Penny landed on the docks. Multiple blades appeared from behind her which she promptly used to knock aside any unfortunate White Fang grunts that choose to engage in combat with the android.

"What shall we do, Ruby?"

"I-I don't know! Save my friend, that little boy… Oh! And stop Roman!"

"I am not little!" Shouted Oscar in response to Ruby's categorization of him. He parried the attacks of six White Fang grunts before sending them flying into several shipping containers with a spin. "I am fourteen years old!"

"Wait! What are you-? Ah!" Ruby cried out as a White Fang grunt tried to bash her with a hammer. Ruby ducked and brought her scythe upward sending the grunt flying into the sky.

_It's good to see her again!_

Oscar made a dash towards Roman Torchwick causing him to scowl. Pointing Melodic Cudgel at the boy, Roman fired several rounds.

"What is with you kids these days? First there's Red, then kitty cat, banana boy; now there's a pipsqueak and Orange head?"

Oscar made an indignant noise at being called a pipsqueak, while Penny tried to correct Roman's lack of knowledge.

"My name is Penny!"

"I don't care!" Roman shouted as he turned his focus entirely on the offending brat with the olive colored coat. "As for you…!" Melodic Cudgel came barreling down at Oscar's head only to be blocked by Oscar's cane. "Do you know how much of a dip my reputation is going to take? Not to mention your little stunt is going to delay from my shipment!"

Oscar merely grinned.

"Nope!" Oscar said, popping the 'p'. Causing Roman's eye to twitch slightly. He has decided to put more effort into crushing this boy.

The air started to hum and whirl as three bullheads appeared through the fog and rained bullets down on the dock.

"Looks like my ride is here!" Roman said with a smug grin on his face and stepped back while swinging his Melodic Cudgel at Oscar's leg. Oscar blocked the attack followed by a jab at Roman's jaw causing Roman to lose focus for a bit.

Kicking back, Roman heaved an attack upward only for Oscar to parry the attack and slid his cane diagonally to strike at Roman's center mass. The thief grunted and blocked the attack, followed by an attempted punch to get back at the jab earlier.

Oscar jumped back, dodging the punch and swing his cane grazing Roman's fist.

"Gah!" Shaking his grazed hand, "Okay you cocky little brat. Let's see how you-"

A large, green laser shot through the sky and cleanly cut through two of the three bullheads. The inhabitants inside the bullhead fell through the cleaved airship, shouting in surprise.

Roman's face was that of disbelief, alongside with Oscar's.

_What in the world was that?!_

Their eyes landed on the android girl called Penny who started to impale another bullhead carrying a crate. The android started taking a step back pulling the bullhead with it.

… _Huntresses are scary!_

Shaking the thought from his head, Oscar glanced towards Roman, who was frozen in disbelief. With a grin, Oscar went and struck him across the head.

"Argh!"

The thief was sent tumbling a good meter before scrambling up. Oscar's surprised attack dislodged Roman's hat that now lies near Oscar's feet, in which he promptly picked it up. Swinging Roman's hat around to remove any dandruff and debris, Oscar then placed it on his head, smiled, tipped the hat forward and posed with his cane.

"How do I look?" He asked with a smug expression.

Roman responded by gnashing his teeth and snarling, "Awful!"

He took aimed at Oscar only to twitch as the thief heard someone cocking a gun at him. Instinct overtook Roman as he threw himself into a combat roll, narrowly avoiding three Dust bullets whizzing past his head.

Blake lowered her gun and pulled out her katana, rushing towards Roman, only to sharply jumped to the left as the thief turned around and fired at the cat faunus.

"Can this day get any worse?!" Roman shouted. This was remarkably the worse day of the master criminal's career. The humiliation of getting sent flying around by a brat younger than Red was enough to push him into deep depression.

That's not the worse part however, no no… His favorite hat has been knocked out of his head twice and is now being contaminated by that pipsqueak!

Speaking of pipsqueak… Roman blocked an incoming attack. Oscar slammed his cane against the thief's own and the two began to duke it out.

Blake picked herself up and watched in awe as the boy in olive coat held his own against Vale's infamous criminal and thief, Roman Torchwick. It wasn't just Blake; Ruby was also memorized by the fight, while Sun was filming with his Scroll.

The two cane wielders struck, parried, and blocked each other's strike that increased with speed and intensity.

Roman Torchwick was no longer holding back, he was furious. Lashing out with heavy strikes, the thief struck boy multiple times, but Oscar's skillful maneuver and footwork lessen the blow.

Oscar was taking a more tactical approach.

Using the thief's semi-blind rage, Oscar was able to land a few strikes on the thief's arms, hands, and legs; causing impairment to Roman's ability to maneuver. However, Oscar was starting to tire out quickly, his body was aching badly from the thief's attack, and Roman made no hesitation to exploit it.

Fiercely striking out, Melodic Cudgel and Oscar's cane collided causing a minor shockwave that threw Oscar off his footing.

Oscar stumbled back as Roman lunged forward causing the boy to lose balance, but Oscar had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Grinning, Oscar fell back sideways, slammed the ground with one hand and flip over. His cane swung up, fiercely colliding with Melodic Cudgel and throwing Roman slightly off balance, but that was all that he needed as he landed. Oscar slide his right leg back, the sole of his feet pushing against the hard ground.

The weight of his body now rests on his left leg. Taking a fencing like stance, Oscar pushed off the floor and lunged towards Roman.

The thief's eyes widen as the boy shot towards him. Roman swung his cane down at the boy's head trying to return the favor, his other hand trying to block the thrust that was aimed straight towards his chest.

Oscar gritted his teeth as Melodic Cudgel slammed into the side of his head, while Roman was sent flying back into a building. Oscar fell to his side and groaned. Ruby snapped out of her bystander mode, gasped, and used her semblance to reach the boy.

"Ohmygosh! He's hurt! Blake! Penny! Okay, maybe not Penny…" Ruby watched as Penny was still happily sending numerous of White Fang grunts into the air. "Blake! Don't let Roman get away!"

Blake snapped out of her daze and narrowed her eyes towards the building with a giant hole. Roman was staggering up while clutching his chest. She glanced at Sun, who nodded with her, and charged towards the injured thief.

They frowned as a female White Fang grunt appeared behind Roman.

The White Fang grunt was small, comparable to the boy that was fighting against Torchwick. The one feature that stood out was her pink and brown hair that was slightly covered by the black hood.

"I'm done for the week…" Roman grumbled to the grunt, pride shattered. "Neo, do your thing."

The White Fang grunt bowed at the charging faunus before taking out a colorful umbrella, opened it, and absorbed the Dust rounds that Sun and Blake fired.

Blake withdraw her gun and readied her katana. Giving out a battle cry, Blake charged towards the grunt and injured thief. The moment Gambol Shroud's blade met the grunt's umbrella, the duo shattered like glass, scattering colorful pieces everywhere.

Blake stood there looking confused before an angry expression formed on her face. Sun came up from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her down.

"Hey, maybe next time. At least I got a video of that kid humiliating Roman. Uploaded to the CCT as well."

Blake's mouth twitched upward, "You were filming the entire time?" Sun was nodding with a proud expression.

"Only near the end after we cleaned up the rest of the White Fang. I was able to catch the part where he took Roman's hat and posed with it. That kid is amazing! Think he can teach us a few tricks?"

In the distance, police siren can be heard. The authorities will be here soon, and she'll have to face the consequences from her teammates. And Professor Goodwitch… Blake shivered. She glanced back at Ruby and the mysterious boy.

Ruby was helping the boy up. For some reason she had a mildly confused and concerned face on, while the boy had a gentle smile on his face.

Say, doesn't his weapon seem… Familiar?

…

The police surrounded the entire dock, rounding up the remaining White Fang.

Blake, Penny, and Sun sat on one of the many wooden crates, while Ruby and Oscar was nearby being tended by a paramedic. The paramedic was performing minor checkup on Oscar, while Ruby hovered around him.

"I'm fine Ruby, my aura took most of the hit. I'm not feeling lightheaded or anything." Oscar said with a grin. The throbbing pain was gone already, however Ruby and the paramedic wasn't having any of it.

"No! You are getting that looked at, mister!" Nodding at the paramedic, who simply nodded back. "And how do you know my name?" She asked intrigued.

"Uuh… Um…" Oscar stammered, how was he going to explain this? Thankfully the paramedic seemed to determine that nothing was damaged or out of place.

"Mr. Pine, it appears that you are fine as of now. If anything arises, please visit a hospital."

"Ah, thank you very much."

"Not a problem. Take care, and please… Don't go confronting former huntsman, turned criminals. Even if you are a Huntsman-in-training."

"Sorry… Will do."

Ruby and Oscar waved goodbye to the paramedic. Ruby was about to ask her question again before spotting her teammates, one with white hair, the other yellow; Weiss and Yang.

Ruby slowly walked towards them eyeing Weiss with a worried expression. "Look, Weiss… It's not what you think. Blake will explain the whole thing and…"

Weiss held her hand up at Ruby silencing her. The white-haired girl walked towards the cat faunus and they stared at each other.

"Weiss, I…"

"Blake," Weiss cut her off, "We've been searching for you for twelve hours. I had twelve hours to think about this. And in those twelve hours, I've decided…"

_Oh boy…_

"I don't care!"

Blake seemed slightly skeptical, "You don't care…?"

"You said you're not one of White Fang anymore, right?"

"N-no, I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Upupupup! I don't wanna hear it!"

While team RWBY were having a heartfelt moment, Oscar took notice of Penny leaving.

"Penny?" Oscar called out, causing the android girl to tilt her head at him. A down crest expression of her face.

"Hello fellow stranger! Please forgive me, I must get going. Father and Uncle will not be please."

"Uh, okay."

"Please give friend Ruby my regards. I do not wish to intrude upon their positive, and emotional moment."

"Um, sure… My name is Oscar, Oscar Pine. Please to meet you?"

Penny smiled, "Please to meet you Oscar! My name is Penny Polendina, I hope we'll meet again soon!"

A car drove up and a door opened. Penny got into the car and waved goodbye to Oscar before the door closed and the vehicle drove out of sight.

Back to RWBY, Ruby herself was cheering. "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together! Hey, wait where did Penny go?"

"Oh, um…" Oscar did a small wave at Ruby causing everyone to zone in on the boy. Now he really wants to disappear. "Penny, she, uh, had to go. Something about Father and Uncle not being happy and wanting her home?"

"Whaaaaat? Aw…" Ruby slumped a bit, before returning to her cheerful mood. "Guys, guys! This is Oscar Pine! He fought against Roman Torchwick and won! He even got Roman's hat as a trophy! Oscar was like, hyah! Hwah! And Roman was like, ahhhhh!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, sis." The blonde, Yang, placed a hand over Ruby's mouth before she could mimic the sound of explosions and fighting. Oscar on the other hand shrank; even more in embarrassment of being placed in the spotlight. "Did I hear you right? This kid bested Roman Torchwick, the Roman Torchwick that you fought?"

Ruby nodded hyperactively, "Yup, yup! Tell them Blake!"

"Uh, yeah. I was very impressed when he stood his ground against Roman. Scratch that, I was actually to stunned to do anything when they started fighting."

Oscar rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, face flushed.

"Dude!" Sun came up to Oscar and slapped his back, "I filmed the finale of your battle! That was amazing! Especially for someone your age and size!"

"Hey!"

"Ooooh, we got a protégé on our hand~!" Yang said closing in on Oscar. The only thing Oscar could do was squeak.

_Nonono, calm yourself Oscar! You have fought against the Headmaster of Haven and fended off a horde of Manticores. You are better than this!_

Weiss still had a skeptical expression but didn't say anything.

"Hey, where did Roman's hat go?" Ruby asked looking around for the thief's signature hat.

"Right here, Miss Rose." A cold, familiar voice sent chills down everybody's spine as Professor Glynda Goodwitch strolled over towards them.

An officer was trailing behind with a nervous expression, possibly because of Professor Goodwitch expression. In the officer's hand was Roman Torchwick's signature hat.

"Pr-Professor Goodwitch!" Stammered Ruby, the dark-haired girl twiddled her fingers and looked away with a fearful expression. Everyone else was no better.

"I was reviewing the video displaying your prowess, young man." Glynda said glancing at the cowering boy. "I must say, I am very impressed that you bested Roman Torchwick."

Glynda find it hard to believe really, especially in Oscar's current state and Roman's reputation. But the video that Sun has uploaded not along ago did not go unnoticed, most notably the weapon that the boy was using.

"Y-yeah, I uh… Wasn't able to stop him." Was all that Oscar to get out.

Glynda narrowed her eyes and straighten her posture, "I do not expect someone of your age to confront a renown, former Huntsman, and make it out unharmed." She towered over Oscar and leered at him. "Try not to do that again." She seethed.

The boy could only gulp.

She sighed and dropped her stern appearance, she motioned at the officer behind her who complied and handed her Roman's hat. She inspected it for a few seconds before giving it to Oscar.

"Roman Torchwick's hat has already underwent several inspections. The authorities have determined that there is nothing harmful that it could pose, or any evidence that could be used. You can keep it as a trophy, of sorts."

"A-ah, thank you."

Yang whistled, "Looks like you weren't, _kidding_! Oscar! Let's spar someday. Yeah?"

"I, uh…"

"Not so fast Miss Xiao-Long. The Headmaster would like to have a word with your sister. You three as well." Glynda narrowed her eyes at Oscar. "Though I don't believe I have your full name, young man."

"Oscar Pine, ma'am."

"Mister Pine, the Headmaster wants to have a word with you. I do not know the exact details, but please follow me to Beacon Academy. It may be unsafe for you in the city now that you crossed path with Roman Torchwick and his associates."

"Of course."

Glynda waved at the students to follow her, "Come along now. The sooner we return to Beacon, the sooner you can rest. And receive punishment."

"Eep!" Squeaked Ruby.

After being driven to the bullhead docks and gathering into a bullhead. The group took off towards Beacon. During the flight, Oscar was questioned about several things. Especially the weapon he wields.

"Mr. Pine, I must say that the weapon you used to confront Roman Torchwick is awfully familiar."

Everyone seemed to perk up at this, including Ruby. _Especially_ Ruby.

"Yeah, it kinda looks like Professor Ozpin's cane." Yang remarked.

"Almost identical." Noted Glynda.

"Oh, um… I, uh… Got it from a relative. Maybe it's made by the same craftsman?"

"I see." Said Glynda with an unreadable expression.

_Huntresses are scary! _

* * *

**Omake:**

Oscar held a very small patch of lawn at Beacon Academy. He used it to cultivate fruits, and flowers. The most dominant are strawberries, apples, and roses.

Now, it's being occupied by one of the most terrifying Creatures of Grimm in existence.

Huddling nearby a small apple tree, underneath its shade; this fearsome and terrifying grimm took on the form of a small bunny. A small white mask covered its forehead and eyes. It possessed four red glowing eyes that stares hungrily, and menacingly at all living creatures, and its pitch-black fur taints the daylight.

Its nose twitch slightly causing Oscar to flinch and hide behind Ruby. Standing to the left side of Ruby is the rest of Team RWBY; Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Oh, and their dog as well.

Zwei, Ruby and Yang's corgi dog; sat near Ruby's feet. Head tilted slightly at the sight of a small grimm that was terrorizing the small garden.

"Careful! It can smell fear." Oscar whispered, staring fearfully at the bunny shaped grimm. Ruby on the other hand had an unamused and slight bewildered expression.

"_Every_ grimm has the ability to sense fear, Oscar." Said Weiss, taking note of how she had never seen such a unique grimm before. It looked awfully harmless.

"That's quite a _grimm _statement there, Weiss." Everyone groaned at Yang's puns while Zwei barked.

"Guys, this isn't a joke. That's no ordinary grimm! Since immemorial time, these things have been the bane of every single civilizations' harvest cycle! Not to mention they are responsible for the deaths of many!"

Ruby was still trying to process the whole thing, only to utter a word, "What?"

Yang snorted, "You said you fought against small grimms at your farm, right farm boy?"

"Uh, yes. But this one is on an entirely different level!"

Yang burst out laughing, while everyone else wore a smirk. Minus Ruby who was still bewildered at the whole thing. After Yang managed to stop laughing, she snapped her finger and pointed at the grimm bunny, while locking eyes at Zwei.

"Zwei, sic 'em!"

"Woof!" The small corgi dog barked and charged towards the grimm. Oscar reached out at the dog trying to stop it from committing suicide.

"Nooo!"

Yang rolled her eyes at Oscar's misplaced drama, only to have her eyes widen and her jaw dropped as the rabbit grimm locked jaws on the poor corgi's back and shook him around.

"Zwei!" Everyone, including Blake, cried out. The dog yelped as a tuff of its fur was ripped out, sending the corgi flying towards Ruby.

The dark-haired girl caught the flying corgi. The poor dog was shaking, but unharmed. Its aura already healing the small wound on its back.

Ruby's face was contorted with anger; silver light started to emit from her eyes.

Yang's eyes turned red, her hair slightly levitating, and her entire body emitted yellow flame around her body.

Weiss displayed a cold, malevolent expression.

And Blake looked like she just witnessed her worst enemy suffered in a way that _even she_ wouldn't wished upon them, much less, feel sorry.

"W-wait, you guys!" Oscar tried to calm them, only for Ruby to place a finger on Oscar lips.

"Say no more, I, leader of Team RWBY. Hereby declare, war upon this foul creature! For Zwei!"

"For Zwei!" Team RWBY roared.

…

Team RWBY sat huddle behind a large pillar. Along with Team JNPR, CRDL, and CFVY. Everyone was looking worse for wear.

The battle turned for the worse, causing Team RWBY to call for backup. Not that it helped them in anyway. The bunny grimm made quick work of everyone and was now resting underneath the shade of the small apple tree.

Everyone was haggard and beaten.

Team RWBY looked like they suffered the most, bucktooth teeth marks pocketed their clothing and weapons. Worse of all, Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose was badly chipped with most of the scythe's blade eaten away by the bunny grimm.

"S-so what's the plan?" Asked Cardin, leader of Team CRDL.

"W-we should get p-professional help." Said Velvet, the rabbit faunus. Despite her heritage, Cardin and his team made no effort to insult Velvet for her ironic heritage despite previous, unfriendly encounters in the past.

Faunus were, after all, compared to grimms due to their animalistic heritage.

However, after Team CRDL fought against the abomination shaped as a bunny grimm. Cardin, and the rest of his team apologized to Velvet stating that the grimm is a monster and that nobody should be compared to such a horrible creature.

And so, the four groups formed a bond and fought hard against the bunny grimm. Sadly, their efforts were in vain and it looks like the grimm would forever occupy Oscar's little garden.

"Well… We can, ugh, ask Professor Port…?" Whimpered Weiss. Everyone stared at heiress.

"Professor Port? The slightly overweight man that rambles about his youthful days when he was supposed to be teaching Grimm Studies?" Inquired Coco, leader of team CFVY.

"He's a professor for a reason, right?" Said Oscar, who was the least haggard out of the entire group. For one, he did not participate in any of the battle knowing better. Still, he really wants the monstrosity out of his garden.

"It's all or nothing…" Weiss said looking down. After a moment of consideration, everyone unanimously voted to call for Professor Port's aid.

…

"Ho ho! So, children! What is it that you encountered? A fearsome leviathan? The terrifying behemoth? A herd of rampaging goliath?"

The portly man in red coat waddled over with many large tools and parts. The man was sporting a hunting hat and held his double-edged axe that is also a blunderbuss.

One wonders how anyone wield such an inconvenient weapon.

Jaune, leader of Team JNPR shakily pointed at the small garden across the yard. "Don't look at its eyes." Whispered Jaune.

Professor Port merely laughed at Jaune's pathetic appearance and demeanor. "Lad! You look like you've been run over by a herd of goliath. And true hunter would never cower in the face of a…"

The portly professor dropped all his gear, except his weapon, and gasped at the horrifying creature.

"Uh…" Squeaked Ruby, "Pr-Professor Po-" She was cut off by the professor shushing her.

"Be very… Quiet… I am hunting… Wabbit." He said, with a very serious expression. Everyone wised up and started to move away as Professor Port slowly strolled towards the small bunny grimm that was occupying Oscar's little garden.

…

"What in Monty Oum happened to Emerald Forest?!" Shrieked Glynda.

Emerald Forest, the tall forest, infested with grimms, and is right next to Beacon Academy; was flatten entirely.

Four group, and Oscar, stood behind Glynda with their heads lowered. Beacon Academy was miraculously, undamaged.

Well part of Beacon's campus… The side yard lawn and some stone tiles were destroyed, but Oscar's garden was somehow undamaged.

The same cannot be said for Emerald Forest. A good portion of the forest was mushed together, as if a gigantic creature came by and started stomping throughout the land.

It's been several hours ever since Professor Port battled against the horrifying grimm. A figure was seen walking out of the destruction carrying a small cage, and a heavily damaged axe.

Professor Port strode proudly onto campus looking like he was tossed into a fiery twister with shards of obsidian mixed in. On his right hand, the fearsome creature, in the shape of a small grimm bunny; was resting.

"Ah ha! I've never thought the day would come where I would get to fight and capture a wabbit! Grandfather would be immensely proud of me!"

Glynda eyes was twitching, she opened her mouth but stopped when she saw what was in that cage. The bunny grimm turn its gaze towards Glynda, nose twitching with interest, but at the same time looking very content.

"… Port…" She whimpered. Port glanced at Glynda with a happy expression.

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch?"

"Please don't tell me you're going to keep that here on campus…" She said with a fearful expression. Port looked at Glynda with shock.

"Of course not! I'm going to transfer it to the Hunter's Association! I bet Ol' Obie will be ecstatic to see that I capture a wabbit! Oh, I must be on my way! Tally ho!"

Everyone watched as Professor Port lumbered away towards the nearest bullhead, taking with him the evilest creature in existence.

After a moment of silence, Oscar tenderly asked. "Would anyone like an apple?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, RoseGarden is one of my favorite ship. How things play out is yet to be determine.**

**These chapters may be longer and shorter than others. It will depend based on what I am trying to put in. The omakes are just a bunch of silly skits that I can imagine the crew doing.**

**With that said, enjoy this chapter. It might take a while before I finish the other one. **

**On the side note, I believe this chapter could have gone better. A lot of things could have gone in, but I had a difficult time incorporating them into it.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Mr. Pine, I presume?" Said the gray-haired man with brownish, yellow eyes. He wore a black suit, green undershirt, and scarf. This is Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

He is also an immortal wizard, sort of.

"That would be me." Oscar nodded, slightly tensing. Obviously, aside from a small voice in the back of his head, Oscar has never met the ancient wizard in person.

Leaning on his cane, that is the exact same as Oscar's, because the one that Ozpin is holding is technically the original one, the gray-haired man smiled, "Welcome to Beacon Academy, Mr. Pine. Please, don't be so tense. I am here to help."

_By lying. _Oscar grumbled in his mind. The amount of secrecy this man kept could fill up the entirety of Mountain Glenn.

Team RWBY and the monkey faunus, Sun, stood behind Oscar while Professor Glynda stood next to the Headmaster. All of them are standing stiff and upright, courtesy of Professor Glynda's glare.

The Headmaster's office is pristine, with the soft sound of rotating cogs, and the starry sky gleaming through the glass windows. Professor Ozpin himself walked towards Team RWBY and gave them a pointed stare, causing them to shrink. Sun included.

"Team RWBY, Mr. Wukong…" A moment of silence and tension filled the air, "Welcome back, I'm glad you're all safe." Team RWBY, and Sun, breathed out a sigh of relief. "Glynda, if you please?"

Dread returned.

"Of course, Headmaster." Turning towards them, Glynda narrowed her eyes. "Detention, all of you. You will meet with me in my office after lunch hour, and we will discuss the proper way of handling team disagreements, along with what to do when encountering an opponent that is beyond your caliber."

Everyone lowered their head in shame, "Yes, Professor Goodwitch." They answered.

_I certainly hope she doesn't mean me as well._

Glynda then turned her glare at Oscar causing him to flinch.

"As for you, young man. The Headmaster and I, would like to have a word with you." She turned her attention towards the rest, "In private."

Oscar resisted the urge to squeak.

_Ruby? Guys? Please don't leave me!_

Everyone filed out of the office quickly, only Ruby lagged behind to wave at Oscar. "See you later Oscar!"

He returned it with a small wave and smile, before turning his attention back to Ozpin and Glynda. The two adults studied him with an intrigued expression, Ozpin had his eyes on the form of Oscar's collapsed cane hooked to his belt.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Oscar unhooked the cane from his belt and activated it. The shaft extended to the floor with a click. Both Ozpin and Glynda blinked.

"I believe… You know of the sentence; 'I'd like my cane back.'?"

The only response he got was Glynda raising an eyebrow, while Ozpin didn't express any sort of emotion.

There was a moment of silence before Ozpin spoke. "Where did you learn to do this?" Pulling up a scroll, it showed a video of Oscar fighting against Roman Torchwick. Their attacks got heavier and faster as the fight draws on.

_I feel like I heard this question somewhere before…_

"Uh, from… You. Kinda."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "Oh, would care to elaborate?"

Taking a deep breath, Oscar braced himself as he tries to delicately put this out. "I am your next incarnation." Stunned silence. Glynda narrowed her eyes with great suspicion but held her tongue, while Ozpin looked a bit surprised. Continuing, Oscar nervously tapped on the handle of his cane. "I know this sounds crazy, but I am from the future. Well, my mentality is from the future. I kinda replaced my past self when…"

Ozpin held out a hand, stopping Oscar from continuing. "May I see your cane?" The Headmaster asked.

"Uh, sure." Oscar handed his cane over to Ozpin with both hands. Taking it gently, Ozpin produced a screwdriver and started to unscrew some of the outer workings of the cane's handle.

Oscar wasn't sure what Ozpin was doing, but after some tinkering, Ozpin paused and stared at the inner workings. Finally, Ozpin sighed, reattached everything together and handed Oscar his cane back.

He accepted with a confused expression, not sure what had happened.

"It's getting dark, let's continue this tomorrow." Ozpin said with an unreadable expression. "Glynda, please show Mr. Pine his temporary room. Once you've done that, please come back here."

Glynda looked slightly off-guard but complied. "Of course, Headmaster."

"Wait!" Oscar cried out, surprising the two in the room. "If you're going to share this, don't share it with the Headmaster of Haven Academy! Leonardo Lionheart is a traitor!"

Glynda looked like she was about to tear Oscar a new one, but Ozpin placed a hand on her shoulder. "That is… Quite an accusation. Rest assure, this will be between me and Glynda for now. If you excuse me…"

Ozpin walked over to his desk and sat down. Pulling up several screens, he began going over the contents on the screen. Glynda huffed and motioned Oscar to follow her.

"Mr. Pine, please follow me."

Oscar meekly nodded and followed the unhappy disciplinary professor.

…

"I must say Mr. Pine, your… Tale is quite intriguing."

"You don't believe me, do you Ozpin?"

Oscar and Ozpin continued _and_ finished their conversation from last night. Thank the gods for that… It took them five hours for Oscar to set his story straight.

Oscar stood straight with both hands resting on his cane. Ozpin was also mimicking his stance, cane and all, as if this was a moment of symbolism.

A symbolism of how Ozpin would one day reincarnate into Oscar's mind and eventually have their souls merged.

"I will admit, I am almost over fence here. You speak of many things that even Salem and her associates wouldn't know…"

"But…?"

"…" Ozpin appears to be in deep thoughts.

Oscar sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand, he dove deeper into what remains of Ozpin's memory lodged in his mind. Maybe he can find something embarrassing…

Finally, Ozpin spoke. "I… Find it disheartening that the event… That may transpire has negatively affected my associates and students trust in me."

"Yes, well that's what happen when you keep secrets from your friends or allies. Better yet, don't lie to them to that extent!" Oscar snarked. He was at the receiving end for some of blame, which makes it more of a priority to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

At the very least, have them not directed their anger towards him…Oscar did not want to relive that moment again. Ozpin on the other hand can suffer.

"… I'll… Consider it. But as of now, this will be kept between us." Oscar opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted. "Then, I will let the rest of my trusted associates know."

"Not the Headmaster of Haven, I hope?"

"No, me and James will carry out our investigation on Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart. If your statement is true, we will ensure that he will be dealt with."

"And if we can't find anything?"

"Headmaster Leonardo has been… Acting very suspicious lately. There is a reason why I did not provide him a decent amount of information over these past few years. Not to mention he has never questioned the lack of them as well. I have my reason to be cautious, especially with the other Headmasters."

Oscar was now pacing in the office, twirling his cane. "So… What happens now?"

"Now we wait. Until James and Qrow arrives, I will not make any noticeable moves until the time is right. Rest assure, I will be adding countermeasures in response to the event that went down in your timeline."

"Okay… But what should I do in the meantime?" Oscar asked, playing with Roman's signature hat. It's not much, but it did make Oscar feel like he's a badass for once in his life.

"Hm… Your position here at Beacon is… An oddity. You will have your own living accommodation here at Beacon. You are too vital to leave this campus, at least, for now." Ozpin sat down on his chair and pulled up a screen. "How about you become a student here in the meantime? Surely, it would help improve your growth."

"That… Doesn't sound too bad?"

Not to mention the wizard's vast knowledge gives him a huge edge on most school subjects.

Ozpin quietly type away on his screen and pulled out a stack of paper. After a few minutes a scribbling down something and signing a few papers. Ozpin glanced up at Oscar and smiled.

"Welcome to Beacon Academy, Oscar Pine."

…

Oscar was sightseeing as he walked beside Ozpin. His cane was collapsed and stored away on his belt, while Ozpin's was tapping away at the stone floor as he walked.

"I apologize that I will not be able to integrate you into any teams, but I can make you an exception in being able to do things independently." Ozpin explained as they walked towards the cafeteria, "You can, however, work with any team that you are familiar with. Just be sure to notify our professors should the assignment be limited to teams only."

"I see… Will I be able to graduate properly? Should I stay and go through all four years?"

_That is, if Beacon will still be standing…_

"I don't see why not? Besides… Oh, it appears that the students made quite a mess of the cafeteria."

Oscar and Ozpin watched as Glynda utilized her semblance with her riding crop to reconstruct the demolished cafeteria. Food splatters were everywhere, tables and chairs broken, there is a giant hole in the sky, and a swordfish was stuck on a wall.

"Children, please." Glynda seethed, "Do not play with your food."

Team RWBY and JNPR stood awkwardly before a scream could be heard from the sky. Yang crashed down onto a table sending debris everywhere.

Ozpin walked towards Glynda and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Let it go."

Glynda relaxed and sighed, "They're supposed to be defenders of the world."

"And they will be…" Thinking about Oscar's description on the Fall of Beacon, how Pyrrha Nikos perished fighting against… Cinder Fall, and how devasted the world will become in its aftermath. "But right now, they're still children."

Team RWBY and JNPR were laughing. A carefree laugh. Something that Ozpin would very much like the world to experience.

Holding back a sigh Ozpin retracted from Glynda, while placing his hand on Oscar. "So why not let them play the part? After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever." He said, pushing Oscar towards the 'fun'.

Glynda raised an eyebrow, while Team RWBY and JNPR took notice of Oscar. Oh, Sun and a blue haired boy named Neptune was there as well.

Neptune was covered in purple juice and was looking very peeved, while Sun was completely fine somehow.

"Oscar Pine has officially enrolled at Beacon Academy. However, due to his situation, he will be free to work with any teams should he have their approval and their professors."

Ruby gasped, "Oscar! You're a student here now?!"

"Y-yeah, seems like it now."

"Yes! I'm no longer the youngest student here!" She cheered.

"Hey hey! Aren't you the kid in the video that took that criminal huntsman hat, posed with it, then broke his legs and chest?" An orange-haired girl bounced up and down in front of him. She looked dangerously hyperactive.

"Uh, yes? No? I didn't, uh, break his legs and chest?"

_Something tells me this isn't going to be as relaxing as I hoped…_

…

In a hidden warehouse somewhere, the White Fang were moving containers out of a bullhead. Two individuals walked into the warehouse, a green-haired girl and a gray-haired boy. They strode over towards Roman Torchwick, who is now without his signature hat and is scowling at them the moment he spotted the duo.

"Oh look," He said sarcastically, "She sent the kids again."

The gray-haired boy, Mercury, smirked. "At least I wasn't the one that got his butt handed to him by a kid."

The green-haired girl, Emerald, also shared the same expression as her grayed-hair partner.

"Cute," Roman said, walking over and putting them both into a headlock. "You have my absolute approval to kill that boy."

"The infamous thief and criminal, can't even beat a kid, lost your expensive, and favorite hat. How sad." Emerald muffled, twisting the metaphorical knife deeper into Roman.

Scowling, Roman released them and walked towards the desk with a piece of paper that he pickpocketed from Emerald. The green-haired girl looked at it in surprised before patting herself down. She then glared at Roman.

The thief merely gave her a side glance, "I'm a professional sweetheart. Pay attention, and you might just learn something." Emerald and Mercury snorted at that remark. Ignoring their response, Roman read the address that was printed on the slip of paper and glared at them.

"Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Said Emerald, pointing a finger at him.

"Yeah, I would. But now I can't, because I have better things to do."

Mercury laughed, "Like losing against a kid? We were cleaning up your problems, at least one of them. Looks like we have another minor problem to clean up."

Roman gave Mercury a pointed stare, "I had that under control."

"Yeah, as seen in this video." Mercury pulled out his scroll displaying a video where Roman was sent flying into a building. Roman eyes twitched as he got up in Mercury's face.

"Listen you little punk, if it were up to me I would take you and your little street-rat friend here, and-"

"Roman." A feminine voice stopped Roman dead in his track. He glanced up and saw a young woman in red dress and black hair coming into view.

"Ah, Cinder. How may I help you?"

The escalator descended leveling the platform into the floor, Cinder swayed her body and walked towards Roman with an amused expression.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate that would-be runaway." She said, slightly annoyed, but amused at the same time. Roman could guess what was making her amused right now.

Though it did seem a bit odd that she would be amused right now, considering her… Personality.

"I was going to." He scowled, normally, Roman would be meek and cautious around Cinder considering how she could set everyone in this warehouse on fire, should she feel like it.

However, ever since he 'lost' that battle against that damn pipsqueak and lost his hat. Roman was not in the mood to be pushed around.

"The runaway was going to escape to Vacuo. Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald said, proudly.

"I think he was some sort of cat." Quipped Mercury.

"What like a puma?"

"Yeah, there you go."

"Quiet!" Snapped Cinder, causing her two underlings to flinch. "Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?" Behind her, Roman was mocking them with a silly face and gesture.

"I just thought…" Emerald scratched her head in shame.

"Don't think," Cinder said, while Roman made a throat slitting gesture." Obey."

Looking ashamed, Emerald lowered her head. "Yes ma'am. It won't happen again."

"And you." Roman rolled his eyes as Cinder turned her attention towards him. He could feel his body starting to burn a bit as Cinder narrowed her eyes; amusement lost. "Why wasn't this job done sooner?"

Roman waved his hand around the entire warehouse full of boxes and containers. "Eh? Ehh? EHHHH?! Sorry if I've been busy stealing every single speck of Dust in the kingdom."

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski-mask. Oh, and getting your butt kic-"

"Quiet!" Roman snarled, causing Mercury to put up his hand in surrender. "Look around kid, I got this town running scared."

"Pfft!" Mercury and Emerald choked a bit as they held up a scroll. It displayed a video of Roman being sent flying into a building.

Roman glared at them before turning his attention to Cinder, who now have a small smile on her face. She walked over, snatched the scroll from Mercury's hand and watched the battle between Roman and the boy.

Her eyes seem to dissect every single movement that took place in the video, and when the battle finally came to a 'conclusion'. She handed the scroll back to Mercury and looked at Roman.

"You were going all out back there, weren't you?"

"No, I was not." Roman said with a deadpanned expression. Cinder only stared at him. "I wasn't going all out, because I had my hands full earlier dealing with four other brats. There was an orange-haired girl that destroyed two of my bullheads in one go! With a gigantic laser! Oh! Did I mention she pulled an entire bullhead down, by herself?"

Mercury snorted, but ceased his amused expression when Cinder glared at him.

Roman continued, "Maybe, if I could get some decent help. Then, maybe these robberies would go a little bit smoother."

"That won't be necessary." Cinder purred, surprising Roman. "We're done with Dust."

"Ookay… Then what now?"

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you the details coordinates tonight."

"Coordinates?"

"We're proceeding to Phase two." She said with a smirk, before walking away. Emerald and Mercury followed her, only for Roman to grab Emerald by the arm.

"H-hey!"

"My lighter." Roman hissed, "Hand it over."

Emerald had a surprised expression but returned Roman's lighter. She stuck out her tongue and ran to catch up with Cinder.

Roman scowled and lit his cigar. Blowing out a few smokes, he turned his head towards a corner.

"Neo."

A small, young woman with brown and pink hair walked out of the corner. Her mismatched eyes gleamed underneath the warehouse light as she studied her partner.

"It appears, that I have been getting a bit… Rusty." Roman said with a calm tone while Neo raised an eyebrow. Roman walked while twirling his cane and tapping the floor several times. The infamous thief paused and smirked at his partner in crime. "Let's fix that, yes?"

…

Cinder and her underlings walked slowly towards their bullhead. Her underlings were still being entertained by a repeated clip of Roman being thrown into the building.

"Tell me." Said Cinder, catching the attention of her underlings. "Do we have any information on this boy?"

"No ma'am." Responded Emerald, "But I haven't put much effort into doing so, yet."

"Fear not, Emerald. Focus on the task that I will provide you at hand. I will carry out this investigation myself."

"Doesn't the brat weapon look familiar?" Mercury said, taking notice of the cane that is often associated with one important individual in existent.

Headmaster Ozpin. The Wizard.

Cinder paused, before a vicious smirk spread across her face, "Yes, yes it does."

* * *

**Omake:**

"Heeeey Oscar~!" Yang chimed as she homed in on the boy that was sitting beside her sister, Ruby.

It was lunch time; the boy had already finished his sandwich and is now reading a sci-fi novel.

Oscar sensed a feeling of dread but couldn't help to complied as Yang sat down next to him. Leaning her entire body onto his arm, Yang poked his chest with a mischievous expression. Oscar's face was turning red and he turned towards Ruby for help.

No such luck. Ruby was busy gobbling down her meal and cookie. Blake and Weiss were indifferent to the scene that was playing out before them. Apathy.

Sighing, Oscar turned to face Yang. "Yes, Miss Xiao-Long?"

Yang grinned and opened a bookmarked page in her book that she brought with her. "My eyes aren't very good today; I didn't get enough sleep." Said Yang with a soft whine.

"And… You want me to help you read an entire chapter?"

"Nope." Yang said, popping the 'p'. "Just this page, starting here."

The blonde leaned more onto Oscar and wrapped a hand around him making him very flustered. Incomprehensible thoughts were going through his mind.

"L-let's get this o-over with." Stammered Oscar, he placed Yang's book down onto the table and started to read from where Yang was point at. His mind wasn't in place, he thought it was a history book, or something, so it took Oscar a few moments to figure out what he was reading.

But it was too late.

_His breath came out ragged and heavy as she straddled his lower abdomen. "This is the best part." She whispered, tracing his chiseled abs with her finger. She lowers her waist onto his solid-_

Oscar sputtered as his mind finally clicked on what he was reading.

Blake choked on her food while Weiss had her face lit up to the color of Pyrrha's hair.

"Yang! What are you making him read?!" Ruby squeaked. She pulled her red hood over her face and made a hissing sound underneath it.

Team JNPR were a table beside them also shared similar reaction. Pyrrha's face matched her hair color, Jaune was choking on his chicken nugget, Ren looked stunned, and Nora seemed to blank out.

Yang guffawed while filming the whole thing. "Oh man! Your reactions!"

Oscar seemed to turn redder than anything in existent. He placed his hand over his face and tried to shrink into his seat. By then, everyone had an unamused expression that was directed towards Yang.

Clicking her scroll shut, Yang continue laughing as she patted Oscar on the back.

"Yang." Snarled Weiss, her face still red. "Don't you ever, do that again!"

"Aw, looks like Ice Queen is starting to melt. Did a little bit of exposure to the world of adult leave a heated impression?"

Weiss sputtered, "N-no! A-a-anyway, you are f-forbidden from bring such in-indecent literature to the table."

"Oh, cheer up Weiss. This one isn't mine. I found it in the lounge. Must be Blake's." Yang said while inspecting the book. Blake responded by choking on air.

"I'm afraid that is incorrect, Miss Xiao-Long." Said a very cold voice. Everyone froze as Professor Goodwitch stood behind Yang, her hand placed firmly on the mischievous blonde's head. "I believe you have something that is _mine_."

Yang gulped as she shakily handed back the professor's book. Glynda took it gracefully and gave a glare that seems to lock everyone in place.

"This never happened." She said coolly.

Glynda walked hastily out of the cafeteria. After a while, the atmosphere returned to a bearable environment and the students quietly went on with their daily lives.

"Oscar? Ossscar?" Ruby poked Oscar who still has his hands covering his face. "It's okay Oscar, Yang does that to all the boys. And sometimes girls…"

Oscar didn't respond. Ruby gently tilted Oscar onto her lap and patted his head. "There, there Oscar. I'll protect you from Yang." Ruby said, glaring at her older sibling.

Yang had a bewildered expression before engaging Ruby in a verbal spat.

Meanwhile, in Oscar's mind…

_ has stopped working, please leave a message after the scream… AHHHHH-_

* * *

**I believe the next chapter would introduce James Ironwood and Winter Schnee. Getting close to that dance as well. Try guessing who might be paired up.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Starting to diverge a bit from the direction the show had. Hopefully, I don't have to watch the whole show again to figure out what each character say or do.**

**That said, this chapter could have gone a lot better... It's boring to put it lightly. Rest assure, there will be some action in the next chapter. Especially since Neo is in the mix this time.**

**Oh, did I mention that I had no idea that Vol 2, Ch 2 of RWBY is actually named "Welcome to Beacon"? GAH!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Oscar watched as several Atlesian airships landed from afar. As amazing as Atlesian technology is, he was simply not in the mood for it. He received a notice from Ozpin to meet at his office, but later received another stating that it won't be necessary when he was halfway there.

He half-believed the man was trolling him. The other half has something to do with General Ironwood, Headmaster and General of Atlas Military and Academy, bringing his soldiers to Vale.

It doesn't matter, Oscar didn't spend enough times with his peers for a while and he starting to enjoy the board game that they were playing. If only Ruby would stop falling for Yang's bait…

Entering the library, Oscar made his way towards Team RWBY and JNPR, who were currently occupying a section of the library.

Team JNPR were near the window; Ren was studying, Nora sleeping, Jaune reading comics, and Pyrrha taking Jaune's comic book with an expression of disapproval.

Not far from them is Team RWBY, playing Remnant: The Game. The board game was currently filled with pieces representing kingdom units, machinery, and grimms. A mismatch of expression was plastered across their faces ranging from nervousness to smug.

"Alright… Hmm… Alright…" Ruby mused, Oscar pulled up a chair and took his rightful place near Ruby. She snapped out of her thoughts and greeted him. "Oh, hey Oscar! That was fast."

"Yeah, it turns out that Ozpin had a sudden change in his schedule. I think he's going to meet with the Headmaster of Atlas Academy." Oscar chimed, ignoring Yang wiggling her eyebrow at them.

"Ah, that must be General Ironwood. He is the Headmaster of Atlas Academy and is also in charge of Atlas military." Weiss said while sporting an uncertain expression. She appears to be absorbed in reading the game cards in her hand.

"Glad I don't have to make my way up again, so what did I miss?" Oscar leaned over towards Ruby to look at her cards. He was 'unofficially' the advisor to Grand General and Cookie Master, Ruby Rose of Atlas.

"Oh right! Yang Xiao Long! Prepare your kingdom for battle!"

"Bring it on!" Yang said pumping her fist.

_It's a trap!_

Oscar thought the moment he saw Yang's enthusiastic response. "Wait Ruby, I don't think…"

But it was too late. Ruby was already on a power trip and deployed her Atlesian Air Fleet to bypass Yang's Ursai. Yang was edging Ruby on with her 'shocked' expression.

"You fiend!" She gasped, placing a hand over her heart and looking hurt. Oscar was still desperately trying to get Ruby's attention.

"Ruby? Ruuuby?" Oscar whimpered, shaking the girl. She appeared to be off in her own world, ranting about how Mantle is part of Atlas, and something about repair time. Yang gave the two a triumphant grin and chuckled darkly.

"Pretty sneaky sis," Yang held up a card. "but you've just activated my trap card!"

"Whaaaaa?!" Ruby cried out in surprised while Oscar gave her the 'I told you' look.

"Giant Nevermore! If I roll a seven or higher, Fatal Feather will slice your fleet in two!"

"But," Retorted Ruby, "if you roll a six or lower, it'll turn on your own forces!"

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take."

_She'll get a seven or higher… _Oscar mentally sighed, patting Ruby on the back.

"Hah!" Yang rolled a nine.

"I knew it." Oscar sighed.

"NOOOOOO, MY FEARLESS SOLDIERS!" Ruby cried out and gave Oscar a crushing hug as she started crying. Oscar felt his body temperature rise by a several degrees.

"R-R-Ruby!" He squeaked, also taking in the smell of strawberries and chocolate. Yang's grin widens as she witnesses the boy hormones acting up.

"Why didn't you tell me it was a trap, Oscar?! Why?!" Ruby wailed.

"I-I tried! You w-weren't listening!"

"Oh Ruby~! Look what I got~! The Smugglers of Wind Path! I'm taking two cards from your hand." Yang sang causing Ruby to crush Oscar harder.

"Have you no heart?!" Ruby sobbed, slowly releasing Oscar and head desk the tabletop. Yang wiggled her eyebrow at Oscar causing him to narrow his eyes.

"Should had listen to your advisor, Ruby. _He knows his stuff_." She said winking at him.

It took Oscar every ounce of willpower to prevent himself from stuttering. "I don't know what you are implying, Miss Xiao-Long."

"Oh, you know what I am implying~"

"I have…" Weiss declared, "Absolutely no idea what's going on." Yang slide over and started blabbing about Vacuo perks and stuff.

Oscar noticed Blake's distant expression and tapped on her shoulder. "Hi Miss Belladonna, something on your mind?"

The cat faunus regarded the boy with a look of regret and sighed, "You can call me Blake, Oscar. I'm just… I… I just can't believe that the White Fang would stoop to this low! They're working with Roman Torchwick of all people, and they are up to something! I just know it!"

"Well…" Oscar started, but was distracted by Weiss's sudden change in demeanor.

Cackling, Weiss stood up and began her tyrannical speech. "YES! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms-!"

"Trap card." Yang said with a smug expression.

"Huh?"

"Your armies have been destroyed." The blonde said with a grin causing Weiss to breakdown in tears.

"I hate this game of emotions we play!"

"Stay strong, Weiss." Ruby sobbed, jumping into Weiss's arm and hugging her. "We'll make it through this together."

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Weiss cried out, hugging Ruby in the process. Oscar glanced at Blake with a questioning look.

"Yes, Oscar." Blake rolled her eyes. "This is just another normal day for Team RWBY. Just another normal day at Beacon."

"Yeah, that seems about right." Yang chirped, "Alright Blake, you're up!"

"Huh? Oh, um… What are we doing again?"

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant."

"Right…"

"Hey! Can I play?" Jaune cut in as he walked towards the table.

"Sorry Jaune, but we've already got four players." Apologized Ruby.

"What about Oscar?"

"Oh, he's my unofficial advisor."

"Which you didn't listen to when you tried to attack Mistral." Mumbled Oscar, causing Ruby pout and swipe at him.

"Besides," Weiss added, "this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess."

_Says the one who attack her own forces._

"Uhhh… You attacked your own naval fleet two turns ago."

Weiss huffed at Yang's statement. Jaune seemed undeterred by Weiss's belittlement.

"Bring it on Ice Queen! I'll have you know that I've been told that I'm a natural, born leader!"

"By who? Your mother?"

"And Pyrrha!"

"Hello again!" The red head cheerfully waved.

"Come on Weiss, let me play your hand! I'll be your advisor, just like how Oscar is to Ruby!"

Weiss backed away at the begging knight, "I'm not trusting you with the good citizen of Vacuo!"

"Why not? You trusted me with way more important stuff before. I mean, you told us that Blake's is secretly a Fau-"

"Fun-loving person whom we all admire and respect!" Pyrrha cut in while covering Jaune's mouth.

Everyone, except Oscar who is confused, had a nervous smile on their face. Blake, on the other hand did not look amused.

Taking this cue to leave, Jaune rubbed the back of his head and started to make his escape. "Right… That. Ladies, enjoy your battle." He bowed out before getting interrupted by two newcomers.

"Sup losers." Sun posed with a victory sign before greeting everyone at the table. "Ruby, Oscar, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen…"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!"

Ignoring her protest, Sun introduced his blue-haired friend. "I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend."

"Uh, aren't libraries for reading?" The blue-haired boy questioned.

"Thank you!" Ren shouted, awaking Nora in the process whose thoughts happen to slip out of her mouth.

"Pancakes!"

Sun gave the blue-haired boy a flat look, "Shut up. Don't be a nerd."

"Intellectual. Okay. Thank you." He turned towards everyone and waved, "I'm Neptune."

"So, Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked, causing Oscar to raise an eyebrow.

_Oh? Don't tell me…_

"Haven… And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel."

Weiss looked taken aback, "Um… I'm Weiss."

"Are you kidding me?!" Jaune shouted.

_Yup._

"Pleasure to meet you." Neptune said, smoothly.

Sun was attempting to strike up a conversation with Blake, but it seemed that she was done for the day. Getting up, Blake brushed Sun aside. "Right… Well I think I'm done playing, actually. I'll see you guys later."

Everyone watched as Blake quickly made her way towards the library exit.

"Women." Nora shrugged causing everyone to look at her with an addled expression.

"I forgot to ask Blake something, be right back." Oscar said, taking off after her.

_Man, she is fast!_

Blake was already at the front door and Oscar did not want to shout out for her in the library. Picking up the pace, he weaved his way through the tables and people, ignoring the librarians glaring at him.

"Blake!" Oscar shouted once he was out of the library, but the cat faunus had already disappeared.

_Where did she go? _

As Oscar made his way towards the main building, he froze as a large shadow loomed over him. Turning around, he looked up and saw a large man dressed in white. A rectangular piece of metal was attached above his eyebrow and he have black hair with white streaks on the side.

General James Ironwood.

The man looked down and smiled at Oscar. "You must be Oscar Pine."

"Um, yes sir. I am Oscar Pine."

"A pleasure, I am James Ironwood. Headmaster of Atlas Academy and General of the Atlesian Military. Ozpin already filled me out on your… Unique circumstances."

"So, uh… I take it you know about…"

"Yes." The giant man smiled and shook hands with Oscar.

_Strong grip!_

"Care to accompany me for a while? I have some questions to ask."

"Um, sure." He couldn't find Blake right now but figured she would be in her dorms. He'll go check up on her later.

"Excellent." General Ironwood waved at the soldiers that stood way back. The soldiers nodded and went the opposite direction. "Follow me, it won't take long. I assure you."

…

Blake sat curled on the bed, thinking about her conversation with Ozpin when she enrolled at Beacon Academy. The door slammed open snapping Blake out of her thoughts.

"Ugh! We should have never let him play!" Yang stormed in while Ruby giggled.

"You're just mad cause the new guy beat you. See if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would have happened."

"That's rich, coming from you sis." Yang quipped. Oscar entered the room, hesitantly, while carrying the board game. Yang seemed to take notice of his hesitation and started to tease him. "So, Oscar. First time in a girls' room?"

"Y-yes…"

Blake got up and tried to leave only for Weiss to take notice. "Stop." She commanded, "Lately you've been quiet, anti-social, and moody."

"Uh… Have you met Blake?"

Weiss rolled her eyes but continued. "Which I get, is kind of your 'thing'. But you've been doing it more than usual, which quite frankly, is unacceptable. You made a promise to me, to all of us, except Oscar," he raised an eyebrow at that remark, "that you would let us know if something was wrong."

"So, Blake Belladonna!" Weiss suddenly shouted startling him. The white-haired girl leaped into the air and landed on the chair tipping it over but balancing it perfectly to prevent her from falling. She pointed at the cat faunus, "What! Is! Wrong?!"

Ruby and Yang had a dumbfounded expression towards Weiss balancing herelf on the chair. After a brief consideration of her action, the heiress seems to realize the ridiculousness of her actions and swiftly returned the chair to its original position.

Blake took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I just… Don't understand how everyone can be so calm. Especially you, Oscar…"

He blinked at her statement before realizing that she blames herself for putting him in a dangerous situation. Roman Torchwick and the White Fang wouldn't forgive him for ruining their plans after all.

"Oh… Well… I've, uh..."

_Been through worse. Try surviving against Salem's minions, and possessing the memories of an ancient wizard that's been through a lot of traumatic events._

Ruby placed a hand on Oscar's shoulder while facing Blake. "Blake, you're still thinking about Torchwick?"

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! I practically got a kid two years younger than you involved, Ruby!"

"I, uh… Purposely chose to help out."

"You're. Two. Years. Younger. Then. Ruby! Two years! You just made an enemy out of Torchwick and the White Fang! How can I forgive myself for bringing a child into my mess?!"

Oscar held out his hand, "One, I am Ozpin's apprentice."

"You're his what?!" Ruby shouted in awe.

"Second," He continued with a grin, "I kicked Roman's butt and got his hat as a souvenir."

Blake opened her mouth only for Yang put her into a headlock. "Yeah Blakey, Oscar got this!"

"No! You don't understand! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and Huntsman, I'm sure they can handle it."

_Uh… No, no they cannot…_

"Well I'm not!"

"I agree with Blake." Said Oscar and shrunk a moment later as Ruby, Weiss, and Yang glared at him. Blake looked befuddled.

"Oscar! Not helping!" Ruby hissed and tugged on his ears.

"H-hey!"

"Okay," Weiss sighed, "between blowing up night clubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the four of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells."

"Uh, who?"

"But let me once again be the voice of reason… We're students. We're not ready to handle this sort of situation."

"Oscar handled Roman and the White Fang pretty well." Yang pointed out.

"W-well, to be honest. It was s-sort of a fluke that time…" Oscar said bashfully.

"We're not ready!"

"And we may never be ready!" Shouted Blake, "Our enemies aren't just gonna sit around and wait for graduation day!"

Oscar nudged Ruby, "You're the leader, say something." He whispered. Ruby nodded and interrupted Blake before she could catch her breath.

"Okay! All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses-" Oscar coughed, "and huntsman to single-handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale… Say 'aye'!"

"Yes!" Yang made a fist pump, "I love it when you're feisty."

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Admitted Weiss, hesitantly of course.

"This wasn't what I meant when I said, 'say something'…" Moaned Oscar.

"You said you agreed with Blake! Also, known of you said 'aye'…" Ruby mumbled with a sad expression earning her a pat on the back from Oscar.

"Alright then!" Blake said with a grin, "We're in this together. Except Oscar."

"What?" Oscar croaked with a sad, puppy like expression.

Everyone flinched, "Okay… Oscar can come with us." Blake said grudgingly.

"Let's hatch a plan!"

"Yeah!"

"Ah! I left my scroll in my room all day!" Oscar said with a troubled expression.

"We're doomed…" Weiss said rubbing her forehead.

"I'll go get Professor Goodwitch to help unlock my door…" He ran out of the room, "Be right back!" and collided into a girl with green hair.

"Oof!" He fell back and winced, "Sorry about tha-"

Oscar froze. It was Emerald and Mercury, Cinder's underlings. They were wearing their Haven uniform and had an amused expression on their face.

"You okay?" Emerald asked, she put out her hand which Oscar meekly accepted. Pulling himself up to his feet, Oscar tried to act natural.

"Y-yeah." He said, looking away. The silvered hair boy beside her snorted.

_Damn it, Oscar! Act natural! Why, oh why did I meet them this early?_

"Hey, aren't you the kid that kicked Roman Torchwick's butt?" Mercury asked with a giant grin on his face. Emerald also sported the same look. "That. Was. Amazing!"

"O-oh, that… It was f-fluke. Anyway, I-I gotta go!"

He took off passing a young woman with black hair. She looked slightly annoyed, but it was barely noticeable.

"He looked nervous." She purred.

"Maybe it's because he's a boy undergoing puberty and thinking Emerald is hot."

"Ew, do not say that again."

"Quiet you two. Whatever the reason may be, we'll see the boy soon." The trio strolled down the hallways towards their dorm room, Cinder smirked and whispered to herself. "Welcome to Beacon."

* * *

**Omake:**

"Oscar!" Ruby shouted out in the Combat Arena. She held her Crescent Rose with one hand and glared at the boy walking into the arena.

Oscar walked into the spotlight with his cane collapsed, his face was unnaturally serious. Team WBY and Team JNPR watched with bewildered expression as the two youngest students in Beacon seemed to have it out for each other.

"Uh, guys? What happened?" Yang asked. She glanced towards Jaune and Pyrrha, the two being there with Ruby and Oscar before this all started.

"I'm… Not sure." Said Pyrrha, with a worried expression. "Oscar asked Ruby for the time and…"

"And Ruby what?"

"Uhh…"

Jaune cut in, "It's like a spy movie! Oscar asked her 'What time is it?' and it seemed to trigger some sort of sleeper agent phrase, or something."

"Oookay…?"

"Oscar! Do you know what time it is?!" Ruby shifted her Crescent Rose into an unfamiliar form. The sniper rifle, scythe hybrid weapon seemed to collapse and covered her entire left arm.

"I didn't know Crescent Rose could do that." Yang said with great surprised. Everyone else nodded.

"Indeed… I do know what time it is." Oscar replied coolly, his cane extended and shift horizontally covering a good portion of his left arm. The shaft flattened and expanded revealing small platforms on them.

"Are they…?" Blake narrowed her eyes as a stack of cards dispensed from their respectable weapons. Where it came from was anybody's guess.

"Oh no…" Weiss moaned.

"It's time to duel!" Echoed the battlecry of the crimson reaper, and the wizard's apprentice.

…

"There are grimms in the Combat Arena!" Shouted Glynda. She noticed the sound of combat echoing out of the arena. Fierce snarls and the sound of artillery being fired was shaking the arena's foundation.

General James Ironwood rushed with her towards the arena radioing for manpower and backup before turning towards Glynda. "How did grimms get into the combat arena? Several massive grimms as well if those noise are to be heard!"

"I don't know! But we may have a breach in…?" Glynda paused, along side with James, at the sight of Ruby cackling manically on top of a Wyvern.

"Mwhahah! Fear my Wyvern, bringer of fear and destruction! Watch as I bring your Life Point, a-ah, I mean Aura down to zero! Wyvern! Attack his Colossus!"

"W-what's happening?! Why is the Wyvern here?! Why is the Colossus not in Argus?!" James Ironwood, a man who survived through horrible and harsh ordeals, had finally lost his composure at the sight of two children somehow commanding titans and monstrosities.

"Not so fast, Ruby!" Oscar grinned and held up a card. "You've activated my trap card!"

"What?! This cannot be!"

"Atlesian Innovation! My Colossus doubles its attack power this turn!"

"Nooooo!" Ruby jumped off her Wyvern as it attacked the mechanical giant, Colossus. The giant shattered the Wyvern with a single punch sending shockwave throughout the entire arena.

Ruby landed on the floor and hissed as the overhead displaying her Aura lowered significantly.

"You're just a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck!" Snarled Ruby, "Behold! I sacrifice my grimms and paladins to summon… The Black Rose Dragon!" The ground started to rumble as a gigantic grimm started to emerge from the ground, taking with it all of Ruby's monsters.

Glynda took her glasses off, cleaned it, and placed it back on. When she saw that this was not a dream, she turned her head towards Team WBY and JNPR who were cowering underneath the seats.

They shook their heads while staring at Glynda and James with a fearful expression.

Sighing, Glynda turned towards the general who still sported a bewildered expression. She tapped his shoulder for attention, and asked calmly, "Would you like to take an entire day off with me? I believe there is a restaurant I would like to try out."

"T-that would be wonderful, Glynda."

"After you James."

"No no, ladies first."

Glynda and James slowly walked out of the Combat Arena ignoring the destruction that was happening inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is the long... Not to mention how difficult it is for me to narrate this story, especially the fighting scene that I promised.**

**There are some parts that didn't turn out very well, so I am sorry if it affects the quality of the story.**

**I am trying to add more unique segments to the story and not copy and paste some of the plots and lines from the RWBY series too much. Otherwise, it would be a very boring story with Oscar inserted into it.**

**No Omake in this one, I had several skits but those didn't seem very good. **

**That said, enjoy the long read.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Grimm Studies. One of the grimmest class in Beacon Academy.

Yang would had made such a pun if she weren't half asleep by Professor Port's rambling. The blonde was struggling to stay upright, and half of the student body were no different either. Weiss was staring intently at the clock ignoring the flirting attempt by Jaune. Blake was off reading… Something. And Ruby was doodling some plans for today's 'investigation'.

Oscar was fast sleep on the desks, exhausted by yesterday's ordeal. After getting his room unlocked by Glynda, he quickly requested a brief meeting with Ozpin alerting him that Salem's agents had already enter the academy. They both agreed that if they were to confront Cinder and her underlings, it may trigger a backup plan of sorts.

In other words, better the devil you know. Or more accurately, better the sinister plot you know. They need to act carefully, and when the time is right, move to eliminate them. Still Oscar did not like the fact that Cinder would be roaming the school. The thought made him sleepless for the night which is now catching up to him. For once, he was graceful for the portly man's ramblings.

Professor Port's story is enough to put even the grimms to sleep.

Ruby leaned over towards Oscar and poked him gently on the cheek with her pen which didn't seem to stir him. The school alarm rang, notifying the students that class is over.

"Oscar, wakie wakie. Class is over already~." Ruby continue to playful poke Oscar.

"Zzz…"

Narrowing her eyes, Ruby decided that it was time to take drastic measures. "You made me do this, Oscar. I didn't want it to be like this, but you leave me no choice!" Ruby placed a hand onto his sides and started tickling him.

Oscar shrieked as he was forcefully awakened from his deep slumber. Kneeing the table and lunging to the side, he protectively curled himself before realizing where he was. Yang was roaring with laughter, alongside with Professor Port and some straggling students.

"Ruby!" Oscar furiously whispered at the sheepishly looking girl, "Couldn't you wake up in a less embarrassing way?!"

"Sorry! You didn't wake up when I was poking you fifty times…"

Ruby offered Oscar her hand, which he gratefully accepted. Lifting himself up the floor, Oscar brush aside any dust on his uniform and followed Ruby out of the classroom. Jaune had his head on the desk, depressed at being rejected by Weiss, again. Oscar couldn't help but give him a small pat on the back, while making a note to push Jaune towards Pyrrha.

In his timeline, Jaune was furious at Ozpin once he found out that his indirect actions ultimately lead to Pyrrha's death. Not to mention the regrets and sorrow Jaune had for not noticing her feelings for him.

He can play matchmaker later. Right now, he'll have to watch over Team RWBY so that they don't do anything stupid. Sure, they took care of themselves way before he came into the picture, especially in his timeline, but if there's a chance that he can make things better. He will.

It's the Ozpin in him, wishing what's best for his students. Minus the scheming and secrecy part of Ozpin.

_Okay, maybe not the secrecy part… But I'll tell them someday!_

…

Team RWBY was suited up and geared for today's investigation. Switching out of their school uniform for their causal clothes, and retrieving their weapon, the girls were ready to hit town.

"I thought that class would never end." Groaned Blake. Having two sets of ears doesn't work very well for that kind of class.

"Alright guys, today's the day. The investigation, begins!" Ruby cheered, jumping down from her top bunk bed, hands stretching upward. Weiss tucked her legs over her bed to avoid the falling reaper while giving her a deadpanned expression.

"I'm glad to see that we are taking this so seriously."

"Hey! We got a plan. That's… Moderately serious." Yang said with an uncertain expression.

"Right, everyone remember their roles?"

"Yes, Ruby…" Weiss said with a groan. "You've been overly explaining it before class even started. Multiple times because Oscar was sleep deprived. I don't think we should bring him along in his current state."

On cue, there was a knock at the door.

"I got it!" Ruby said, opening the door and letting Oscar in. He was dressed in his olive-green coat with red paddings and black trousers. Yang raised an eyebrow at his attire.

"Oscar, you look like you're a Mistralian tourist. That, or you're going for a long journey with that look."

"These… Are probably my only clothes that wouldn't make me stick out too much. These are also my combat clothes, so…"

"I think Oscar looks fine, Yang." Ruby defended him, but Yang did not look amused.

"Once this is over, we're going to go shopping for new clothes. I think there are some outfits I would like for you to try on." Yang said with a mischievous grin, causing Oscar to sputter; the same reaction was shared by Weiss.

"Yang! He can take care of himself!"

"Yeah Yang!" Echoed Ruby.

"Yeah! So, what are you guys talking about?" A voice called out at the window. Everyone snapped their heads at the voice and saw Sun hanging upside from his tail.

"Sun?!" Everyone backed away from the window, disturbed by the monkey faunus creepy intrusion. The implications are real.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked with a guarded expression.

"Ah, it's easy. I do it all the time."

"You do what?!" Weiss cried out, mortified.

Oscar slowly unhooked his cane from his belt and nearly pulled on handle to activate the full extent of his cane. His expression was neutral, but something dark was brewing inside of his heart and mind. And then it died.

"I climb trees all the time!"

Weiss looked stunned for a bit before narrowing her eyes. Oscar silently breathed out a sigh of relief and secured his cane to his belt. Sun took this moment to jump into the room, uninvited.

"So… Are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy? I mean, Oscar already handed him a new one, but…"

"We," Cut in Blake, "are going to investigate the situation. As a team… And Oscar."

"Hey! Well, actually… That is true." His name wouldn't fit in anywhere in RWBY anyway.

"Sorry Sun, we don't want any more friends getting involved if we don't have to. Oscar is the exception."

_I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick here, somehow…_

Sun snorted, "That's dumb. You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune." He said thumbing at the window. The girls poked their heads out of the window and saw Neptune awkwardly standing on the short ledges of the building. Oscar was curious enough to try and poke his head out of the window but was pushed back by Ruby with an 'older sister' glare.

Sighing, Oscar leaned on the wall near the window and listened to their conversation.

"Sup." Neptune greeted.

"How did you even get up here?" Asked Ruby.

"I have my ways." The blue-haired boy said smoothly, before making a concerned expression. "Seriously though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now."

…

"Alright, so… Change of plans. Me and Oscar will go with Weiss, Sun with Blake, and Neptune with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"

_I think Weiss has something to say about that._

Oscar mused with a small smirk. The white-haired girl didn't seem very pleased by the fact that Neptune is being shoved towards Yang.

"Actually Ruby, why don't you and Oscar go with Yang." Weiss said with a slightly nervous expression. "After all, she is your sister."

"But Weiss, who would go with you then?" Ruby asked with a confused expression. Neptune was standing stiff as a cutout and was wobbling around before Yang halted his movement with a hand.

_Seriously Ruby?_

"W-well I guess Neptune could come with me." She said sheepishly. Ruby stared at Weiss before laughing.

"Nah!" Ruby waved causing Oscar intercepted her before she could drag them off. "Oscar?"

"Ruby, a word?" He said, pulling Ruby to a corner. "I think we should let Weiss and Neptune go together."

"Whaaat? But I wanna go to the CCT Tower! Also, it's a lot safer than going to shady night club with Yang…" Ruby pouted.

"I can take care of myself." Oscar huffed, "But don't you see that Weiss… Has a thing for Neptune?"

Ruby eyes widen and glanced at Weiss who was taking peeks at Neptune every few seconds. Ruby turned towards Oscar and grinned. "Oh. My. Gosh! She does!"

"Shhh!" Oscar quickly placed a hand over her mouth. "Let Weiss hang out with Neptune in this one. We can go to the CCT Tower someday."

Ruby nodded but had a mischievous expression on her face. "Oh, we'll go the to the CCT Tower someday… Today."

"W-what?! But you said…" Ruby placed a finger on his mouth.

"You, me, and Yang will 'escort' Weiss and Neptune to the CCT Tower. Then we leave! How does that sound?"

"… Sounds good."

"Perfect! Hey Weiss!"

"H-huh?"

"You can team up with Neptune. Me, Oscar, and Yang will head to the club."

"R-really?" Weiss squeaked, trying very hard not to show her excitement.

"Yup." Ruby said popping the 'p'. She then gave Weiss a knowing smile and circled around her partner like a shark.

"R-ruby… W-what do you want?" Weiss whispered; her face was filled with dread.

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe a quick trip to the CCT Tower with you two before we leave?" She turned towards Yang, who was currently teasing and wrestling with Oscar. "That okay with you, Yang?"

Yang blinked and turned towards her sister. "Wait, I didn't catch that."

"We're going to 'escort' Weiss and Neptune to the CCT Tower." Ruby purred, her expression was like the expression Yang typically makes when she's about to tease someone. Yang stared at her sister with a befuddled expression, then turned towards Weiss and saw her expression.

"Oh… Oh…! We can definitely do that." Yang grinned, released Oscar, and started pushing Neptune towards Weiss. The white-haired girl looked like she didn't want to be here and desperately glance at Oscar for help.

Sadly, Blake and Sun had already left when Oscar was having a conversation with Ruby. This left only Oscar as Weiss's option for help. Unfortunately for the heiress, Oscar shook his head and mouth 'Stay strong', causing Weiss to let out a small whimper.

"Uh… Guys? I'm catching something in between the lines here. Care to let me in?" Poor Neptune, he was looking even more awkward and started to panic as Ruby and Yang smiled sinisterly. "Guys? Guys?!"

…

"Wow!" Ruby exclaimed, taking in the architecture of the CCT Tower. The tower loomed over majority of the buildings nearby and had this sleek look to it. "I forgot how big the transmit tower looks so close!"

"You should see the one in Atlas." Mumbled Weiss, her face was still blushing from Yang and Ruby's teasing. Neptune was walking stiffly next to her, his smile frozen awkwardly on his face.

Oscar was trailing behind with both hands placed behind his head. He must admit; it was worth delaying their investigation for a while in exchange for their relentless teasing and the flustered reactions of Weiss. Oscar didn't participate in their teasing, of course. He was tasked by Yang to film it.

"Atlas's CCT Tower was the first one built, right?" Asked Neptune, still having that awkward smile on his face.

"C-correct," Weiss stammered before taking a deep breath and explained the history of the CCT Tower. "Atlas developed the cross-continental transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the great war."

"Ooo look at me, my name is Weiss, I know facts, I'm rich!" Ruby mocked, causing Weiss to turn around with her hands on her hips. Ruby mimicked her stance and expression before breaking down with a giggle along with Yang.

"Oh, majestic Ice Queen… Thou heart ist melting. Found thy love and joy, thy now be called, Snow Angel!" Yang sang, causing Oscar to cringe at her off tuned singing. The blonde didn't appreciate his lack of respect for the 'fine arts', not that she liked fine arts, and tried to put him into a headlock.

Weiss gave the sisters an exasperated look, "Don't be such a pest you two! Besides, the only reason you guys are still here is because Ruby wanted to see the tower. We could've just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know but it's so cool! Oh! I'm going to take a picture! Ah!" Ruby fumbled with her scroll before accidently sending it flying. It landed near a familiar figure, one with orange hair and green eyes.

"Oh." Penny reached down and picked up Ruby's scroll. "You dropped this."

"Penny?" Oscar and Ruby said simultaneously.

"Who's she?" Neptune asked.

"Oh, one of Ruby's friend. A bit odd as well." Yang muttered under her breath.

Penny had a worried expression on her face the moment she made eye contact with Ruby. "Uhh…" Was all she could utter before Ruby unleashed her worries upon her.

"Where have you been?! We haven't seen you since the night at the docks."

"S-sorry. I think you're confused."

"I'm pretty sure we are not…" Muttered Oscar.

"Hic!" Penny jolted with a hiccup sending Ruby's scroll flying towards its owner. Ruby caught her scroll before trying to get an answer out of her android friend. Regardless, Penny decided it was time to leave before Ruby could say anything. "Uh. I've got to go."

The orange-haired girl swiftly walked away.

"What was that about?" Asked Weiss.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out. You guys go on ahead without me. I'll meet with you guys later!" Ruby took off after Penny prompting Oscar to follow her.

"I'll go with her!"

"… Of course, he follows her." Yang grumbled. She turned towards Weiss with a smug look on her face, the blonde was about to make a pun only for Weiss glare at her while dragging Neptune towards the CCT Tower.

"Save it, Yang. Don't you have a night club to trash?"

"Oh yeah… Guess I'm going solo." She shrugged.

…

"Penny! Where have you been? It's been weeks!" Ruby caught up to the android girl while she was making her way down the stairs.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding." Penny calmly replied.

"What?" Squawked Ruby, Oscar shared her confused look as he caught up to them.

"Does it have something to do with your Father or your Uncle, Penny?" He asked.

"Oh no, they have nothing to do with it. Hic!"

Oscar's lip twitched. _So, she hiccups when she lies? Interesting. _

"Penny…" Ruby slide down the rails and jumped in front of her. "Is everything okay?" Penny ignored Ruby's plea and continued walking.

"Penny, please, stop!" Ruby shouted, grabbing the android girl by the arm, "Look, I don't know what's wrong. But you have to listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks; we think they're up to something big. Something ba-"

Oscar placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, silencing her. She looked at him with a sad and confused expression, wanting to say more, but Oscar didn't let Ruby continue the conversation. It didn't seem right to do so right now.

"Penny?" He asked softly, the android girl looked up. "Is something wrong? You can tell us, well, maybe you can tell Ruby… She's your friends and, um… I-I can be your friend as well."

Penny blinked before sighing in defeat. She glanced around as if she was worried that someone was listening to their conversation. Walking over, Penny leaned closer and whispered. "It isn't safe to talk here." Before scanning her surroundings.

"Where should we go?" Ruby asked.

…

Penny stood in front of a café, slightly fidgeting. They agreed to regroup at an 'undisclosed' location. Oscar assumed that it had something to do with the Atlesian soldiers he saw earlier. Not to mention fragments of Ozpin's memory seem to reveal that Penny was Atlas secret project.

That one will be held a secret for now, especially since it's very personal for Penny.

_Ugh… Secrets. _Oscar mentally groaned.

After meeting up with Penny, the trio made their way down the streets. Ruby had cheered up, while Penny wore a more relaxed expression. Oscar didn't say much, letting the two enjoy their time together. It was the least he can do right now.

"I wish I could help you, Ruby. But I don't know anything about those men." Penny said as they made a right turn near the city square.

"That's okay Penny, but why did you leave without telling me? I mean, you told Oscar who told me that you said goodbye but… We were all together and then you just disappeared. Okay, not disappeared entirely. Oscar saw you leaving, but still! What happened? Were you blackmailed or something?"

Penny eyes widen, "Oh no, nothing like that!"

"Well then where did you go?"

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but, oh you have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot."

"Believe me," Ruby said, rolling her eyes. "I know the feeling. Did you try to find me, at least?"

Penny looked guilty, "I, was asked, not to talk to you. Or Weiss… Or Blake… Or Yang… Anybody really."

"Was your dad that upset?"

"No, it wasn't my father…"

A loud voice could be heard from the city hall which drew the attention of the trio. A hologram of General Ironwood was making a speech in front of a crowd. He was commending the AK130 models, a series of combat droids that were in service for several years. Two metallic containers were to side of the holographic general.

"But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation." General Ironwood continued, "And fine, well that's just not good enough is it?" The metallic containers slowly open their shutters revealing Atlas's new model. "Presenting, the Atlesian Knight 200."

The new Atlesian Knights unceremoniously knocked over the AK130 with a kick and started posing while the crowds clapped. If Oscar can recall from Ozpin's memories, these models were the ones that were hacked during the Fall of Beacon.

"Oh boy…"

"Whoooa…" Ruby was mesmerized and slightly drooling at the new models. Penny on the other hand looked extremely conflicted.

"Are you alright, Penny?" Oscar asked.

"I am… Fine, Oscar. Hic!"

The general went on. "However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require, a human touch."

"Ruby…" Penny started.

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company are proud to introduce, the Atlesian Paladin!"

The hologram of General Ironwood flickered away before replacing it with a hulking robot walker. The crowd clapped at the intimidating mech while General Ironwoods continued talking.

"Whoa…!" Ruby was now out of this world as she stared at awe of Atlas's newest weapon.

"Ruby? Please don't leave us…" Oscar whimpered.

"Ruby… Maybe we should go somewhere else…" Penny slowly backed away as two Atlesian soldiers spotted her.

"Penny?" Ruby snapped out of her daze as Penny made a break for it through the alleyway. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Follow her! Quickly!" Oscar shouted as the two Atlesian soldiers started running towards them. Ruby and Oscar bolted into the alley after Penny.

"Down here, she went this way!" One of the soldiers shouted.

Ruby glanced back and saw that the soldiers were catching up to them. Seeing a pile of crates held up by a platform, Ruby took out her Crescent Rose and slashed off one of the foundations causing them to fall, blocking the soldiers' path.

"Ruby?! What are you doing?" Oscar called out.

"Trying to buy Penny some time to escape!"

"I don't think they'll want to hurt her, Ruby!"

"She didn't want to go with them!" Ruby yelled back and jumped onto the wall. She picked up the pace before jumping to the other wall and wrapped her arms around Penny.

"This way! Sorry Oscar!" She pushed herself off the wall and used her semblance to take Penny with her leaving red petals of roses behind. Unfortunately, Penny was too heavy for her to carry and she fell dropping Penny on the floor. Ruby tumbled a good meter before stopping in the middle of the street.

A truck honked as it came roaring down the lanes.

"Ruby!" Oscar shouted; he strained his body to the max, but he was certain that he won't be able to reach her on time. "Penny! Help her!"

She didn't even need to be told once. Penny shoved Ruby aside and met the truck head on. Oscar winced as Penny held her ground sending the truck upward for a bit before the android girl leveled it down. The driver, who looked like the shopkeeper he keeps seeing, was shaken, but unharmed.

Ruby eyes were wide open in shock, while Oscar staggered a bit trying slow down.

"Penny…?" Ruby asked with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver, who simply nodded. She backed away from the truck and turned towards Ruby and Oscar.

"Umm… Uh…"

"Penny, are _you_ alright?" Oscar asked.

Penny blinked and looked down on at her hands. Panic started to set into the android girl as crowds started to gather around. Penny pushed pasted Ruby and Oscar, leaving the wreckage behind and two Atlesian soldiers trying to make their way through the crowds.

"Penny! Come back!"

"I haven't done this much running since Ozpin's basic training…" Oscar grumbled as he chased after Penny. They finally paused at a remote area in the alley allowing them a moment of rest.

"Please!" Ruby begged, "What is going on?"

"And can we stop running? I strained my body a bit earlier."

"Oscar, not helping!"

"S-sorry!"

Ruby walked up to Penny and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Why are you running? How did you do that?!"

"I-I can't. Everything's fine! Hic!"

"You didn't look fine back there, Penny." Oscar bluntly stated, "You hiccup everything you lie, by the way."

"N-no I don't! Hic! I-I don't want to talk about it. Hic!" The android girl curled up instinctively, but Ruby wiggled her way through and gave her a hug instead.

"Penny," Ruby said calmly, "if you can just tell me what's wrong I can help you. We, can help you."

"No, no no, you wouldn't understand!"

Ruby struggled as Penny was trying to break free. Oscar took this as an opportunity to join in on the hug, for the sake of Penny and Ruby. Appearing behind the android girl, he wrapped his arms around her, and blushed trying to not mind the fact that he was currently hugging two girls.

Ruby gave Oscar a thankful expression, which he couldn't see because Penny was taller than him.

"G-group hug?" He meekly called out.

"L-let me go! Hic!"

"Penny, please. Let me try. Tell me what's wrong. You can trust me."

Penny stopped struggling and gazed into Ruby's silver eyes. "You're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?"

"I promise." She said softly.

"I promise too." Oscar muffled from behind. They slowly release Penny and gave her room.

"Ruby, Oscar… I'm not a real girl." She said, showing her hands. The synthetic skin that was plastered across her hands were torn away showing shiny gray metal underneath them.

Ruby stared at them before uttering a single word. "Oh."

"So… You're a boy?" Oscar joked.

"Oscar…" Ruby moaned with a deadpanned expression while Penny blinked at few times.

"Sorry, just… Trying to lighten the mood here." Oscar said while rubbing the back of his head.

Ruby turned her attention to Penny. "Penny, I uh… Don't understand?"

"Most girls are born, but I was made." Penny explained, "I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." She wore a proud expression for a moment before looking sadly at her hands. "I'm not real."

"Of course, you are Penny." Ruby said while taking hold of her hands, "You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"

_There's the kind, gentle, Ruby I know. _Oscar grinned as he reminiscent of the time Ruby assured him that he is his own person and not an extension Ozpin. Of course, Qrow had to ruin the moment… Not that he blamed him entirely, but still…

"I don't, um… You two are… Taking this extraordinarily well."

"You're not like those things we saw back there. You got a heart and a soul; I can feel it."

Penny stood there in silence for a moment, before smiling. "Oh! Oh Ruby!" Penny smothered her with a hug. "You're the best friend anyone could have!"

"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower…" Muffled Ruby. Oscar laughed at her predicament and regretted a instantly as Penny turned her attention towards him.

"I believe this scenario calls for… A group hug?" Penny said with the brightest smile on her face.

"Yes Oscar." Ruby said chillingly, "This _does_ deserve a group hug."

Resigning to his fate, Oscar let Penny wrapped her arms around him, suffering the same fate as Ruby.

"Oh! You two are the best! My father would want to meet you two one day! Oh, he's very sweet. My father's the one that built me! I'm sure you would just love him!" Penny released the two and skipped around in joy.

"He built you by himself?"

"Well almost, he had some help from Mr. Ironwood."

"The general?" Ruby and Oscar said simultaneously.

"Wait, is that why the soldiers were after you?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They like to protect me too!" Penny said sweetly. Oscar and Ruby snorted at that remark. The thought of those two soldiers protecting Penny, who can destroy and stop a bullhead singlehandedly, is laughable.

"I think those soldiers are being protected by you…"

"Oscar, has anyone ever told you that you are a very, snarky boy?" Ruby remarked, snickering at his embarrassment. Ruby turned her attention back towards Penny. "Sooo… Not to be rude or anything Penny, but why did your father build you?"

"My purpose is to help people. One day, it will be my job to save the world. But I still have a lot to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world and test myself in the tournament."

_This sounds familiar…_

"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace."

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said."

_The war between Salem and Ozpin… I think. Somehow, I feel like this may have something to do with the Fall Maiden, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it. Gah!_

Oscar was lost in his own thoughts trying to dig up the memories that he gained from future Ozpin. He suddenly found himself being shoved into a smaller alleyway along with Ruby.

"You guys have to hide!" Penny stated, while shoving them closer and closer towards a garbage bin.

"No, Penny! Wait! You don't have to go with them, I can help you!"

"Ah! Not in there! These are my only casual clothes!"

"It's okay you two. They're not bad people. I just don't want my friends to get into trouble." They were inches away from open lid of the garbage bin; Oscar was desperately trying to prevent himself from being thrown in there.

"Okay! Okay! We'll go, just not in the garbage bin. Ruby, used your semblance and take us out of here!"

"What? No!"

"We'll listen out on the rooftop, come on! Do you want to stay in the garbage bin?" Oscar whispered, urgently tugged on Ruby's arm. She glanced at Penny who simply smiled and nodded. Sighing, Ruby wrapped her arms around Oscar's waist making him blush.

"It appears that Oscar's temperature is rising significantly, you should seek out medical attention."

"W-wha?! N-no, I'm fine. It's just the b-body heat! Come on Ruby!"

"See you later, Penny."

"Goodbye Ruby, goodbye Oscar. I look forward to our next encounter!"

Ruby and Oscar sped away in a blur of red and dark green petals. They stopped atop a building and watched as the two Atlesian soldiers finally caught up to Penny. They listened in on the conversation, Ruby sighing a relief as the soldiers were really concerned about her friend's wellbeing. After Penny left with the soldiers, Ruby and Oscar laid on the roof top staring at the darkening sky.

"Hey, Oscar?"

"Yeah, Ruby?"

"Thank you for being here with me, today."

"No problem. Anything for a friend."

After a moment of silence and reflection, it hit them that they were supposed to help out in the investigation. The worse part? Yang was left to her own device. Oscar and Ruby looked at each other, dread growing as they know that the blonde would not let them go that easily.

"We left Yang behind, didn't we?"

"… Yup."

"Yang is going to kill us, isn't she?"

"Yup."

…

Weiss and Neptune were situated on a bench near the CCT Tower. They were watching something on their scrolls and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The files that Weiss acquired would be looked over at a later date, but for now it was practically a date between her and Neptune. The moment Weiss saw the crimson reaper, and her little 'puppy', Weiss's blissful expression dropped and was replaced with her typical cold demeanor.

"There you two are!" Weiss hissed with an indignant expression. "Where have you two been? It's been hours!"

"What have you two been doing during those hours?" Ruby teased, causing Weiss to blush furiously and stammered, trying to find an answer. Luckily, Neptune cut in and saved her day.

"We've been skimming over some of the files that Snow Angel acquired but figured that since there are too many to go over for the evening. We decided to…"

Their scroll started ringing, "Everybody!" Blake called out from the other side of the line, "If you can hear me we need back-"

"HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" Shouted Sun in the background. "They got a robot, and it's big, really big!"

"Looks like things are about to get interesting." Oscar said with a grin and Ruby nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I am not missing this!"

…

"Stupid Ruby. Stupid Oscar. Leaving me alone and having to chase oversized junk of metal! How am I supposed to slow that thing down without support?"

Yang muttered under her breath as she chased the paladin through the highway on her motorcycle, Bumblebee. Blake and Sun were jumping on cars trying to get away from Roman who was piloting the mech. Roman tore his way through the freeway, knocking aside all sorts of vehicle that were unfortunate enough to get in his way.

He was upset that he couldn't find the pipsqueak that took his hat, but he'll settle for the two interlopers that crossed him that day. Sadly, it was not going to be easy. The paladin he piloted is fast, strong, and heavily armed. But it is also a large target.

Blake's semblance allows her to create clones that can take a hit for her. She can also infuse them with Dusts to give them certain properties, such as fire, ice, and electricity. Using her clones as improvised weapons, Blake send them flying towards Roman's paladin letting them explode upon contact.

Roman hissed as the paladin took a decent amount of damage from the improvised attack. He was surprised that her clones were capable of being infused with Dusts but didn't slow down his advancement. Roman weaved through the exploding clones gaining traction as the vehicles that populated the road were dwindling.

"End of the line." Roman laughed but took it back the moment the monkey faunus managed to jump onto his paladin and duplicated himself using his semblance. "Another one?! Does all faunus have clone based semblance?!"

Sun's glowing clones smashed their staff into the arm joints of the paladin dealing no damage, but slightly hindering its functionality. Roman jerked the paladin's arms dislodging them and tried to take a swipe at the monkey faunus. Sun dodged the attack, shifted his weapon into their gunchuck form and fired at the 'head' of the paladin.

"This thing is tough!" Sun shouted, struggling to stay on the paladin that was flailing its arms around.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here huh, Sun?" Shouted a blue-haired blue in the sky.

Two figures jumped out from a bridge above the freeway. Neptune landed on top of the paladin, while Weiss landed further out on the road and used her glyphs to create a wall of ice.

"Oh no you don't!" Roman growled. Multiple rocket launchers reared themselves open revealing rows of rockets.

"I got it!" Neptune shouted. He transformed his weapon into a trident with electric sparks emitting from the blade. He spun it several times before lodging it into the one of launchers. Sun looked at Neptune in shock.

"Neptune! What are you doing?!"

"Saving snow angel!" He motioned at Weiss standing ahead.

"By blowing oursel-" Several rockets exploded sending Sun and Neptune flying over the bridge. Blake couldn't help but facepalmed at the sheer stupidity the blue-haired boy just displayed.

"Neptune!" Weiss shouted, she turned her attention back towards the charging paladin and somersaulted over the ice wall as countless rockets rained down upon the wall, destroying the icy barrier.

Skittering back, Weiss decided to try a different approach and stabbed her rapier, Myrtenaster, into the floor. The paved road started to ice over causing the paladin to slip and crash through the bridge's barrier. Roman gritted his teeth and balanced the mech in midair, landing it on its feet. He took noticed of Ruby who stood before his mech and sighed.

"Little red, little red… Always past your bedtime." He mumbled.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang jumped down and landed beside Ruby; the team united and ready to fight. Roman cracked the joints in his body and readied himself as the battle commenced.

…

Several hundreds of meters away, Oscar hid behind one of the many pillars that held up the freeway bridges. Ruby tricked him into staying there by promising that the giant mech would land nearby and they, along with the rest of her teammates, would launch a surprised attack to bring it down. Or at the very least, cripple it.

He was sulking because Ruby lied to him. That, or she misjudged the landing position, which she supposedly knows somehow. However, he can't really blame her. He was a bit sleep deprived, and Ruby became overbearing when he yawned twice. Twice! Still, he's still wide awake. Especially with what was happening.

Ruby called out her team's maneuver that involved Weiss icing the floor, and Yang smashing it to create a smoke screen over the battlefield. He couldn't see clearly, but he could make out some of the shadows that darted around the ground. Team RWBY handled this before, in his 'timeline', so they could do so again without his help.

Now that he thinks about, the only thing he can do is simply strike at the paladin. He doesn't have any Dust usage for his cane, nor any semblances to make use of. The only thing he does have is the wizard's knowledge and martial prowess, which is a boon itself, but it doesn't help out as much as he wants at times.

"Well… This sucks." He said kicking the floor. He was about to collapse his staff when he felt someone creeping up behind him. Spinning around, Oscar deflected an attack that slide over his left shoulder.

It was the young woman from before. Only this time she wasn't wearing a White Fang uniform like before, not to mention she looks human. She had mismatched eyes, and hair with streaks of pink and brown. Her umbrella, still over his left shoulder, opened and hooked him towards her. Oscar barely duck in time as she unsheathes her blade from the umbrella and tried to stab him.

Staggering back, Oscar steadied himself as the young woman sheathed her blade into her umbrella and bowed at him. She slung her umbrella over her shoulder and smirked at Oscar as she slowly made her way towards him.

"Uh… Nice to meet you?"

_Something tells me this isn't going to be an easy fight. What did Roman call her again last time? Neo?_

Oscar gazed warily at the Neo as she stood roughly a meter away from him. He braced himself for an attack as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to attack first. After a moment, she silently sighs and lunge towards him.

He parried her attack and jumped back as she flipped over and tried to drop kick him. Neo swiftly continue her assault, pushing him back.

_S-strong! She's more skilled than Roman!_

Oscar gritted his teeth and parried another attack. In quick succession, Neo twirled her umbrella out of the parry, gripped the shaft of her closed umbrella with one hand, and slammed the handle into Oscar's nose with the other.

He staggered back and avoided a spinning hook kick, while narrowly avoid her taking stab him with the blade peeking out of the umbrella. He kicked back and held his position as Neo opened her umbrella and twirled it. An amused smirk was forming on her face.

The fight was just getting started. In the background, the paladin's guns blazed, and several rockets exploded in the distance. But the battle over there didn't catch any of their attention. Neo and Oscar locked eyes at one another before she rushed towards him, swinging her umbrella and catching his cane.

She delivered a sharp kick to his sides sending him flying back, causing Oscar to cough out a few spits. Neo pushed on her relentless assault as she opened her umbrella and gave it a spin, blocking his attack and nearly kneeling him in the head.

Oscar backflipped and deflect a thrust from her bladed umbrella. He landed on his feet and quickly shifted several feet away as Neo came charging towards him again. Taking a deep breath, Oscar met her head on as the locked weapons and weaved through the parries, trying to bypass each other's' guard.

Neo kicked back, unsheathed her blade from her umbrella with a gleeful smile, and lunged towards him in a blur. Oscar readied a counterattack but felt someone closing in from behind on his left.

He grunted and spun halfway around swiping the Neo in front of him, which turns out to be an illusion as the moment he swatted away her blade with his hand, the Neo in front of him shattered.

_Her semblance!_

Oscar cursed in his mind and tried to block the real Neo's attack from behind. Neo parried his cane with her umbrella and wrapped one arm around him before twisting herself into the air by using his body as leverage.

He felt the world spin as she pulled him down and threw him towards a pillar. Oscar quickly twisted his body and used his two feet to absorb the impact before kicking off the pillar. Unfortunately, he was unable to land properly as Neo appeared near his landing spot and attacked. He managed to block all of her attacks before he hit ground rolling several times.

He groaned and picked himself up. Oscar then glanced up and saw Neo somersaulting to his right-hand side while waving at him.

_Behind!_

Oscar spun around just in time to prevent Neo's umbrella from crashing down into his skull. Neo pushed down on him hard, forcing him to kneel and locking the two in locked in place. She then jumped back causing Oscar to stumble, allowing her to take the opportunity to deliver a swift kick to his head.

The impact sent Oscar skittering onto the ground.

_U-ugh… Need… To get up!_

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, Oscar kicked himself up and manage to block one final attack. Neo struck the cane out of his hand and tried to wrap her arms around his neck. Oscar swiftly grabbed her arms, threw her over his shoulder, and grabbed his cane in a single motion.

Neo landed gracefully on her feet and regarded the boy with a mixture of amusement and respect. She brushed the dust off her clothes and slowly strode towards the boy with a smile, umbrella opened and slung over her shoulder. Oscar steadied himself and raised his cane defensively while ignoring the massive headache he is suffering.

"You know… It's a shame." Oscar chuckled. Neo raised an eyebrow. "Your fighting-style, I would like to learn it. It would have suited me in my current state. Too bad we're not on friendly terms."

Neo smirked and nodded in agreement to his statement. She shrugged it off and was about to draw her blade until the sound of machinery collapsing caught her attention.

…

Roman's paladin was sent tumbling on the ground multiple times, sending pieces flying everywhere. The fell out of the wreckage before quickly picking himself up and brushing the debris off his suit. He also had a new hat, almost the exact same one that Oscar took from him.

"Just got this thing cleaned!" Roman grumbled, ignoring Team RWBY converging on him. Yang fired her shotgun gauntlet, Ember Celica, at him only for it to be intercepted by Neo and her umbrella. The thief smugly grinned and started to give his farewell address. "Ladies. Ice Queen."

"Hey!"

"Always a pleasure." Roman gave them a mocking salute before glancing at his partner in crime. "Neo, if you would."

The colorful girl bowed and shattered the illusion, taking Roman with her. Team RWBY glanced around trying to locate the criminal duo before taking notice of a bullhead carrying off Roman and Neo into the distance.

Yang clicked her tongue, "So I guess he got a new henchman."

"Actually… She was there at the docks, though she was… Disguised as a member of the White Fang." Blake said.

"Well, in any case. I guess she really made our plans… Fall apart?" Weiss said, with a cheeky expression on her face.

Ruby giggled while Yang and Blake did not look amused.

"No. Just, no." Yang shook her head with disapproval.

"What? But you do it!"

"There's a time and a place for jokes."

Ruby gasped and suddenly remembered where she left Oscar before she came to fight Roman Torchwick.

"Oh no! That Neo girl who came to rescue Roman, I think she came from Oscar's direction!" Ruby used her semblance to quickly return to the spot where she last left Oscar. Her heart froze as she saw him lying on the ground, eyes closed.

"Oscar!" She cried out. Oscar groaned and waved at her before giving her a thumbs up. "Oh, sweet cookies. You're alright! Are you alright?" Ruby asked, kneeling next to him and holding out her hand.

"I'm okay… Just tired." He accepted her hand allowing Ruby to pull him off the ground.

"What happened?"

"I got into a fight with that Neo girl. Turns out she's a lot stronger than Roman."

Ruby's eyes widen, "She's stronger than Roman?"

"She's more skilled than Roman, not necessarily stronger than him. I didn't even land a single hit on her."

Ruby silently regarded Oscar for a moment before she finally spoke. "… I think you've been through enough for the day, Oscar. Here climb onto my back."

"W-what? I d-don't think that'll be neces-"

"Nope."

"B-but…!"

"Nope! Climb on!"

"O-okay…" Oscar collapsed his cane and meekly climbed onto Ruby's back. "R-ready."

"Okie-dokie! Hang on tight!"

A burst of red with tints green, rose petals entered the night as Ruby and Oscar caught up to the rest of Team RWBY. He enjoyed the brief cool breeze as he was swiftly moved away from the aftermath of the battlefield taking in the scent of strawberries and chocolate as well.

_N-no! Bad Oscar!_ He scolded himself.

When WBY saw Oscar, they peppered him with questions concerning about his wellbeing. He assured the rest of RWBY that he was fine, but tired and quietly dozed off as Ruby carried him back to Beacon, ignoring the quiet conversation in the background.

* * *

**Next chapter may take a while to write, this one drained me. Anyway, I promise that there will be a fight scene in the next chapter as well. Not to mention that the dance is coming up...**


	5. Chapter 5

**IMPORTANT:**

**I will be busy and away in the upcoming months. So updates will be very, very slow. That said, I have a few concept stories I would like to post someday while I am away.**

**This chapter, was, sadly rushed. No excuses, but I've been having a lot on my hand (and head) for these past weeks. **

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Oscar watched in awe as Pyrrha Nikos, the four-time Champion of Mistral Regional Tournament, single-handedly demolished Team CRDL in the combat arena. The spartan finished the spar by sending Team CRDL leader, Cardin, with a kick launching him into the air. Cardin landed heavily onto the ground ending the fight between Team CRDL and Pyrrha Nikos.

The lights around the room slowly lit up and Professor Glynda Goodwitch, the combat instructor, walked onto the floor.

"And that's the match." She said.

"Lucky shot. Ugh…" Cardin groaned before passing out on the floor. Glynda regarded Cardin with a look that seems to borderline amusement before turning towards Pyrrha.

"Well done Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

"Thank you professor."

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow but we have time for one more sparring match." Glynda said while tapping away on her tablet scroll. "Any volunteers?" She looked up and scanned the crowd in the stands. Her eyes fell upon Blake who was reading a large book on her lap.

_Blake! Pay attention! _Oscar mentally screamed, fearing Glynda's wrath.

"Miss Belladonna?" Glynda called out causing Blake to shut the book quickly in surprised. "You've been rather docile for the past few classes."

'_I know where this is going, she's not fit to fight in her current state.' _Oscar glanced over at Blake who have black bags under her eyes. '_Might as well take the bullet…'_

"Why don't you-"

"I'll do it." Oscar said and raised his hand. A familiar figure behind him also echoed his statement and action.

Oscar blinked and glanced behind him, finally noticing that Emerald and Mercury were situated two seats back from him. Mercury also had his hand raised and shared Oscar's same look of surprised. He quickly shifted it into a grin and lowered his arms.

Glynda fixed her glasses shift her gaze between Oscar and Mercury. "Oscar and… Mercury, is it? Very well, since you two volunteered; you both will serve as each other's opponent."

"Don't hold back on me, kid." Mercury said with a grin.

"Good luck Oscar!" Ruby cheered.

"Show 'em who's boss!"

"Do your best."

"Break his legs!"

"Nora!"

"Sorry… Thanks." Blake mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

"T-thanks, guys…" Oscar said weakly while kicking himself in his mind. He obviously knows that Mercury won't try anything, but that didn't ease Oscar's uneasiness facing off against one of Cinder's lackey.

Changing out of his uniform and into his attire, Oscar strapped on his boots and snatched his cane out of his locker. Making his way out of the locker room, he spotted Mercury waiting already. Come to think of it, he wasn't in his Haven uniform.

So was Emerald… Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang… Everyone else was in their respective uniform. What gives?! Was there a memo given out regarding a change in dress code? That's not fair, he finds the school uniform a bit stuffy at times.

He shakes the thoughts out of his head and made his way to the center of the arena. Mercury uncrossed his arms and gave Oscar an arrogant smirk.

"Ready, kid?."

"Ready when you are."

Ruby fidget in excitement, while Emerald had her absolute attention on the match. While their original intention was to investigate more about Pyrrha's ability, Cinder wouldn't mind the temporary delay in this scenario. Especially since they get to know more about this Oscar boy.

Cinder took the liberty of investigating more into his background, but his portfolio came up with almost nothing. Aside from his origin being somewhere from Mistral, there was nothing outstanding listed in Oscar's profile. The only subject that caught their attention was the fact that Oscar is listed as Ozpin's apprentice.

They all concluded that Oscar would eventually become one of Ozpin's puppet, presumably holding a position as Headmaster of any of the four huntsman academy. The fact that Oscar was extremely skilled at such a young age would mean that he would be a huge obstacle in the future.

"Begin!" Glynda signaling the match to start.

Oscar and Mercury took their position and ready their stances. A moment of silence past between the two combatants before Mercury charged forth. Mercury twisted his body and tried to land a high kick directed at Oscar's face.

Swinging his left hand up, Oscar deflected Mercury's kick temporary making the silver haired assassin lose balance. Mercury staggered back slightly but fell flat on his back as Oscar struck him across the knee joint with his cane. Oscar backhandedly swung his cane aimed at Mercury's head but grazed him by the hair as Mercury kicked himself back up and slid back.

Mercury rubbed his head and regarded Oscar with an unreadable expression before jumping back, kicking off several Dust bullets. Oscar stood his ground and blocked all of the bullets; his cane blurred as he whittled down the barrage.

Mercury ceased his barrage and charged once again. He swung his leg, fiercely pushing Oscar's cane aside while trying to get a clean hit. Oscar ducked and weaved out of Mercury's offense; using his cane to parry and counterattack. After gaining a decent distance from Mercury, Oscar did a brief analysis of Mercury's fighting style.

'_Shotgun greaves or boots. Armored around his arms and legs. Kicking style combat.' _Oscar listed out several possible vulnerabilities that he could exploit. He pushed away another one of Mercury's kick intending to throw Mercury off balance, but the silver haired assassin used this momentum to perform a roundhouse kick.

Oscar gritted his teeth and dodged the attack by a fraction of an inch, while Mercury grinned and took this moment to grab Oscar's cane. He gave it a fierce tug sending Oscar staggering forward, followed by a hook kick from the left.

Seeing he had no choice, Oscar released his cane and used both of his arms to block the kick. Mercury snorted, jumped back, and tossed Oscar's cane aside before kicking off another round of Dust bullet barrage. Oscar twisted his body avoiding several Dust bullets and started sprinting towards Mercury. He couldn't reach his cane as it was a bit far out, so he might as well try to fight Mercury without it. The silvered hair assassin ceased firing his greaves for some reason, and lunge towards Oscar.

Oscar narrowed his eyes at Mercury's odd reasoning. _'Why did he stop shooting at me? Is he trying to read me? Fine, let's do this once more.'_

Placing his entire weight and energy onto his right leg, Oscar pushed off the ground, shattering the floor and launched himself at Mercury. The silvered hair assassin's eyes widen as the boy blurred towards him at unbelievable speed.

"Whoa!" Mercury cried out. He raised his arms and tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. Oscar's knee pushed past Mercury's defense and slammed into his right temple. His head came crashing down shattering the hard floor on impact.

"Ouch." Emerald said, with a smirk.

Oscar landed and turned around to see the damage he had done. He mentally cheered and sprinted towards his cane. Mercury kicked himself up while clutching his head with one hand. He glared at Oscar and fired off several Dust bullets trying to stop him from reaching his cane.

Too late, Oscar made a jump toward his cane and snatched it off the ground. He rolled to his feet and blocked all of Mercury's Dust bullets before charging at him. Mercury tensed and met Oscar's cane with his right leg followed by a spin kick from his left leg. Seeing that he couldn't get past Oscar's defense without going all out, Mercury decided to give a very, very small chunk of his effort into this fight.

He blasted himself off the floor and sailed over Oscar, firing down Dust bullets to distract him. Landing several meters away, Mercury appeared to break dance as he fired off six grey puffs of smoke from his greaves. The projectiles circled around Mercury as he continues to kick dance around the semi-vortex before kicking off into the air, while the grey puffs of smoke weaved towards Oscar.

Oscar stood his ground and kept track of the projectiles that now circled around him. They homed in on him, erupting into a large mist of smoke as he swiftly struck all six of them. Mercury came barreling down, dissipating the mist with a fierce kick only to be blocked by the shaft of Oscar's cane; the contact emitted large shockwave and crumpled the ground underneath them. Still, Oscar held his place like an unmovable object.

"I forfeit." Mercury said as he pushed off of Oscar's cane and landed on the floor. Oscar silently breathe out a sigh of relief as Mercury walked away with his hands behind his head. "As expected from the child prodigy."

"Oscar Pine is the victor of the match. I'm afraid that my evaluation of this match will be given another time. That is all for today." Glynda said as the buzzer beeps. "And remember the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses. Mr. Pine, if you would please follow me."

…

Oscar had another appointment with the Headmaster and waved them off before leaving with Professor Goodwitch. With classes over, it was free period for the day.

"Did you see that?! Did you see how fast he went when he lost his weapon?! And when that Mercury guy started dancing and sending those clouds around!" Ruby jumped around as they left the classroom. It's been a while since anyone saw Oscar fight, minus the video of his fight against Torchwick.

"Whoa, sis. Calm down, I will admit. That fight was pretty cool."

"Agree, especially Oscar's. His Aura didn't take any hits at all."

Blake silently walked to their dorms, mind wandering about Torchwick and the White Fang next move. The rest of Team RWBY glance each other with a concerned expression. Blake was getting worse and worse with each passing day as she loses sleep and eat.

Yang leaned closer to Weiss and Ruby. "Remember the plan." She whispered and the two nodded. Meanwhile, Emerald and Mercury were also heading back to their dorms to meet up with Cinder.

"Learning is so much fun!" Mercury said and Emerald smirked.

"Not much if you're going to get it knocked out of you."

"I told you, Em. He caught me off guard. It was a mistake, a fluke."

"Riiight…" Emerald rolled her eyes.

…

"How is your leg, Oscar?" Said Glynda as she watched Oscar lean on his cane.

"It's doing well. Just a bit strained. I'm still having a hard time performing aura manipulation to that degree." He said and hobbled his way towards the elevator.

"I see. Nonetheless, please be careful next time. You still have a long road ahead of you in life."

"I'll keep that in mind. What does Ozpin want from me?"

The elevator slowly ascended to the top floor before coming to a complete stop. The door ringed signaling their arrival.

"You'll see."

…

"You what?" Blake said with a tried expression.

"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby said firmly.

"That's ridiculous." She retorted and crossed her arms. Yang sat closer towards her and wrapped an arm around the girl.

"Blake, we're worried about you. Your obsession with Torchwick and the White Fang is really starting to get to you."

"Obsession?!"

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering." Weiss listed out on her fingers. Blake gave her an exasperated look.

"You think I cared about grades? People lives are at stake!"

"We know. Oscar said that Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood are working on the case, personally." Said Yang patting Blake on the back. The cat faunus was looking more haggard than she thought.

"And thanks to you and Sun, we know they're operating somewhere out of Southeast Vale."

"And I provided them the Schnee company record that singled out Vale as the primary target for dust robberies." Weiss added.

"Don't forget about their missing military tech. Oscar said that General Ironwood is gathering a handful of Specialists to handle this issue." Remembering how the giant man looked when he heard that one of Atlas military tech was responsible for the damage and injuries caused during their fight with Roman Torchwick.

"But there's still unanswered question." Blake pointed out.

"Ozpin said that they actually have a lead on what Torchwick, and the White Fang are doing. It's just that they haven't told us what it is. Under investigation or something."

"Why wasn't I told of this?" Blake said while narrowing her eyes.

"Because you were too busy investigating it on your own." Said Ruby. She crossed her arms and gave Blake the sternest look she could muster. "And you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open."

"All we're asking," Yang added in, "is that you take it easy for one day."

"It will be fun. Yang and I will make sure of it." Weiss chimed in.

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!"

"Excuse me?" Blake said with slight distain for their optimism.

"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected." Weiss explained.

"So, Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off. And now we can make sure you have the perfect night." Yang said while pulling Blake closer to her.

"And once it's all over we'll return to our search, rested and ready."

"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked, hoping Blake would go along with the plan. Everyone leaned closer towards Blake and stared at her intently.

Blake closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them. She had a glare on her face that told them what she thinks of their plan. "I think this is a colossal waste of time."

Blake tried to remove Yang's arm, but she did not budge. The cat faunus glared at the Yang, but she returned it with a grin.

"Let's adjust our plans for a bit." Yang said and shoved Blake onto the bed face first.

"What are you doing?!" Blake yelped as Yang started to painfully massage her back. "Let me go! Stop! That hurts!"

"Sorry Blake." Ruby said, her stern expression back in full volume. "You made us do this."

Weiss simply stood up and brushed Blake's hair aside. "You'll be taking a half hour break. After that, you are free to do as you please. But in the meantime, Yang here will be providing you complimentary massages." She said coolly.

"S-stop! Owowow! Okay! I give! Stop hurting me!" Blake cried out as Yang merciless continued on with her massages.

"Your shoulders are too tense, Blakey. Don't worry, I'll loosen them up."

"N-no! Nooooo!"

…

"The kid was holding back." Mercury bluntly said while laying down and reading a magazine. He was slightly peeved that the kid got the drop on him but was able to get some decent information on him.

"Do tell." Cinder said with a smirk.

"Throughout most of the sparring; he was fighting defensively even though he was obviously capable of going offensively. He is also quite fast when he needs to." Emerald explained.

"At first, we thought it was his semblance. But after seeing him lean on his cane after the match, it looked like he was straining his leg to get the jump on me." Mercury added in.

"Which he did, seeing as he nailed you in the head with his knee." Emerald giggled.

"That won't happened again." Mercury sniffed.

"Continue."

"S-sorry ma'am. Oscar Pine seems to be versatile in combat and very perspective."

Mercury tossed his magazine aside and sat up. "When I disarmed him and tossed his weapon aside, I started firing at him since he didn't have his cane to defend himself from my bullets. When the kid started charging at me, I stopped firing and tried fight him while he was weaponless. You know, to get a feel of his abilities."

Mercury went silent for a moment before continuing. "The moment I stopped firing; the kid figured something was wrong. I mean, anyone with average perception can figure that out. But it looked like he knew I was trying to get an understanding of his abilities. Then the kid quickly kneeled me in the head so that I didn't get much from that exchange. Just my head hitting the floor."

It was Emerald's turn to explain. "Near the end of the match. He mostly stood his ground and refused to move from his spot. Even when Mercury was winding up for his final attack, the kid stood there and blocked all of Mercury's attack."

"The kid has a solid defense. Unless I'm going to fight him seriously, I won't be able to get past it. Especially not after we sparred. He's going to know a decent portion of my abilities, and I got a feeling that he wasn't fighting seriously as well." Mercury fell back onto the floor and grinned. "Can't wait to see what's he like when he's serious."

"I see…" Cinder murmured with a thoughtful expression. Ozpin's apprentice, Oscar Pine, is virtually a mystery to her. Even though they gained a lot of knowledge from the sparring match, it was painfully obvious that it left to be desired. Cinder hated when unknown pieces are added into the game, and this was one of them. "Interesting. Add him to the list."

Emerald tapped several times on her scroll and added Oscar's profile into the file.

"You should be able to take him without any problem." Mercury assured her. "That is, assuming he isn't hiding anything too…"

"I have confidence in my abilities, Mercury." Said Cinder. "Besides, it's not about overpowering your enemies. It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time."

Mercury sighed, "I hate waiting."

"Don't worry Mercury, we have a fun weekend ahead of us." Cinder said while taking a glance at her scroll. "I promise you two that."

…

"How's Blake?" Oscar asked, standing outside of Team RWBY's dorm along with Weiss and Ruby.

"She's dead asleep." Weiss said, crossing her arms with the happiest smirk on her face. Ruby copied her stance and nodded.

"Yup. Yang is watching over her right now. I don't think she'll be up for a while. Yang gives one heck of a massage, if you can survive the first few minutes…"

Weiss and Oscar snorted at that. "You mean if they don't pass out from pain."

The three laughed quietly and then sighed.

"Let's hope Blake doesn't become too upset and anti-social after this." Said Oscar.

"Oh, don't worry." Ruby waved, "Your massage idea gave us even more ideas to use should Blake doesn't learn her lesson."

"That's good, I think… Have you guys seen Jaune? Team JNPR isn't in their rooms right now." Oscar tried knocking on their door earlier, but there wasn't any reply.

"Ugh, Jaune." Weiss groaned. "He tried asking me out to the dance earlier with his horrid singing and guitar skills."

Oscar raised an eyebrow at her remark and turned his attention towards Ruby. The crimson reaper just shrugged and giggled.

"Hey guys! Hey cute little Oscar boy!" Nora came up from behind them and lifted Oscar into the air with a crushing hug.

"Nora, please don't squeeze him to tightly…" Ren sighed as walked towards the energetic, orange-haired girl. He tried to pry Nora off of Oscar, but it was pointless. The girl had a grip that rivaled that of a Beringel.

"Aw he can handle it, Renny!"

"Nora… I think Oscar's is slipping away from us." Ren pointed at the now half dead boy.

"Nora! Let him go!" Ruby cried out and also joined Ren in trying to get Nora to release Oscar.

After several seconds of prying, Nora released him the moment Ren promised her pancakes; dropping him onto the ground. Oscar convulsed and sat up gasping for breath. Weiss kneeled down next to him and patted him on the back.

"I know the feeling too, Oscar." She murmured.

"T-thanks."

"Sorry about that." Ren said looking slightly sheepish. "Nora got her hands on some leftover sweets in the cafeteria."

"They're goooood!"

"Ren… How much did Nora eat?" Ruby said eyeing the bubbling girl that looked like she might explode any second. Ren face blanked and didn't respond.

Oscar quickly stood up and backed away, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Nora's outburst. "S-so, uh, where's Jaune and Pyrrha?" He asked Ren.

"They're probably training on the roof or balcony. The one on-"

"Oh, I think I know where they are." Oscar said quickly backing away as Nora inched closer towards him. Ren quickly wrapped his arms around her but wasn't able to stop her advancement; Ruby and Weiss backed away as well.

"… I think we should call it a day." Said Ren as he strained to hold back his partner.

"That is the most thoughtful, and wonderful idea I had ever heard!" Weiss exclaimed with a nervous expression.

"Y-yeah, let's call it a day." Ruby said slowly shifting behind Weiss.

"I got something to do. See you guys tomorrow!" Oscar sprinted down the hallway before things could escalate.

…

Oscar watched as Pyrrha sweep Jaune's legs out from under him causing him to fall onto his behind. She giggled and held out her hand towards Jaune which he accepted.

"Well done. Your sword play's improved immensely." She said.

"Couldn't have done it without ya." Jaune replied while brushing dusts off his clothes.

"So, are you ready to move on to aura?" Pyrrha asked, but Jaune looked like he wasn't up to it tonight.

"I'm actually thinking maybe we just skip aura training tonight. Might go on a jog or something."

"Come on, I know you get frustrated, but you must keep trying. I'm sure we'll discover your semblance any day now."

"That's, not it… It's just…"

"Hey Pyrrha, hey Jaune." Oscar called out startling the two, he hid his presence very well in the dark.

"Oscar! Don't scare us like that!" Jaune whined.

"Hello Oscar, what brings you here?"

"I'm here for Jaune." Oscar said with a smile.

"M-me?"

"Yup."

"Is something the matter?" Pyrrha asked with a confused expression. Oscar shook his head.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just I wanted to do a little bit of sparring with Jaune. And a small bet. Trust me you two, it's going to help you out in the upcoming weeks." Oscar said as he twirled his cane.

"Wait, wha?" Was all Jaune could say.

…

Ozpin looked out the window and gazed at the broken move that floated high above Remnant. James and Glynda stood behind his desk and waited for the Headmaster's input.

"The council has approved of your plan, James."

"… I know you don't like this plan, but even Oscar didn't approve of sending four teenage girls and a teacher near Mountain Glenn."

"And for once, Ozpin," Glynda added with a stern tone. "I would have to agree with James on this one. What were you thinking?!"

"I was being hopeful." Ozpin said with a sigh.

After getting into a heated argument with Oscar, he finally relented, and the group drew up plans that would put minimum risk for his students and James's soldiers. They settled for a bombardment on Mountain Glenn in hopes of eliminating the White Fang and Torchwick, along with the bomb that they had built.

Atlas's Specialists were able to confirm that large amount of Dusts was being relocated towards Mountain Glenn. They couldn't actually confirm if there was a bomb in the making due to the sheer amount of White Fang members roaming about, but it was all the evidence they needed to get the council in on the operation. Countermeasures were also being constructed in the tunnels should anything go awry, but James didn't elaborate on that.

"Glynda, did you announce that the students will be receiving their first mission on Monday?" Ozpin asked in which the professor nodded.

"Yes, I have posted the announcement throughout the school system."

"Excellent."

They plan on cancelling the missions once the operation "starts". The guise of the operation was that there had been an abnormal report of powerful grimms gathering inside Mountain Glenn and the council wants them eliminated. James had enlisted a small company of soldiers and specialists to carry out the attack.

Another company would be stationed near the tunnels in case things they manage to breach the walls of Vale.

Nonetheless, Ozpin despise the usage of soldiers in Vale. It reminded him the time where he and Salem once commanded an army to subjugate those who did not heed their words. An army reminded him of conflict and trouble. And for the citizens of Vale that haven't seen conflict for a while, he was certain that is what they would see as well.

Regardless, this was a necessary move. As for his troublesome students, he'll leave it to Oscar for now.

**Omake:**

"My boy!" Shouted a portly man in a red overcoat. "I heard from Professor Ozpin that you are very proficient in Grimm Studies. Is that true?"

"Uh, um. Y-yeah. Not as good as y-you, but…" Stammered Oscar, he found Professor Port to be somewhat frightening in his own rights after attending several of his classes.

"Wonderful! I need you to help me for the next three lessons. You see, there's an upsurge of aquatic grimms near the coastlines and I want to be there to wrestle with the many beasts of wonders."

"H-hang on, are you asking me to-" Oscar started, but had the wind knocked out of him by Professor Port slapping him hard on the back.

"Indeed! Ozpin's apprentice now a substitute professor of Beacon Academy! Won't he be so proud?"

"W-wait! I don't…! Ack!" Oscar's protest fell on deaf ears and Professor Port dragged him away and started blabbering about lessons planning.

…

"Professor Goodwitch, please! You're my last hope in this madness! I can't teach Grimm Studies! I'm just fourteen!" Oscar begged as Professor Goodwitch dragged him towards the classroom.

"Oscar," The stern professor said coolly. "You have Ozpin's memories, which contains thousands of years' worth of knowledge. Among them are the knowledge of grimms, and I have seen your grades in Grimm Studies despite not listening to Professor Port's ramblings. You will be fine."

"You can't be serious! I can't do this! I'm not qualify!"

"At least you're not Professor Port." Professor Goodwitch mumbled and shoved Oscar through the doorway. "Good luck."

Oscar stumbled into the classroom catching the eyes of all the students. They noticed that his Beacon uniform had been switched towards an attire similar to Professor Ozpin's. The cane was also a nice touch to the outfit.

"Oscar?" Ruby asked with an amused expression. "Are you Ozpin today?"

Oscar choked at that remarked, but quickly waved it away and stood nervously at the teacher's desk.

"S-so… Professor Port h-have a message for you g-guys…" Oscar tapped on his new scroll tablet and the video started playing.

"Hello students! I, Professor Port, will be away for a three-day period fighting, err, I mean studying the aquatic grimms that recently have been populating Vale's shore. It appears that new breeds of aquatic grimms have been showing. So! In the meantime, your substitute professor will be Ozpin's apprentice, Oscar Pine!" All students' jaws dropped at that statement making Oscar squirmed. "I assure you that he has proven himself proficient in Grimm Studies, if I do say so myself. Be well behaved now, I will be back soon! See you in three days!"

The video ended and the classroom was silent. Oscar cleared his throat and started his lecture. "R-right… This is ridiculous, but in the meantime I-I will be your p-professor." He went into Ozpin mode, extended his cane and slammed it onto the board displaying a drawing of a Beowolf, while startingly everybody in the room. "Let's begin! starting with the most common grimms that inhabit around Vale."

Oscar continued to lecture about the three common most grimm that are typically seen in Vale. Beowolves, Ursai, and Creeps. He listed out their strengths and weaknesses with ease; the knowledge that Ozpin acquired fighting these kinds of grimms spanned out for a majority of the ancient wizard's life. This include weak spots where hunters should try to strike, capable of ending a grimm in a single blow without much effort or energy.

"While Beowolves are stronger than your average adult, without aura mind you, it is relatively weak and could be taken out by any hunter-in-training. They possessed strong arms and legs, but that strength is pitiful compared to just about any huntsman or huntresses. The joints around their arms and legs can be taken advantage of should you find yourself unable to…"

Students furiously wrote on their notes and voice recorded the lecture, finding it pleasant and useful compared to Professor Port's usually nonsensical ramblings.

"Annnd that's it for today." Oscar said as the bell rang, the students paused and glanced at the time. Had it already been over that fast? "I've posted the lessons on the school system, if you have any issues contact Professor Glynda Goodwitch, or me. There will be no assignments, but please read your Grimm Studies textbook on pg. 80."

The students filed out of the classroom while Oscar packed away his things and closed his scroll. He took a sip out of his water bottle and noticed Team RWBY walking towards him.

"Oscar! That was amazing!" Said Ruby, causing him to blush.

"I-it was nothing…" He meekly replied.

Weiss snorted, "I would hate to see what _something_ would look like. You've professionally provided the entire class valuable knowledge and made it easily accessible up uploading your lesson into the school system. That is not nothing."

"Yeah!" Yang said hooking her arm around Oscar's neck. "Next time I fight against a pack of Ursai, I'll remember to aim for the head."

"T-that's great. You're too c-close, Miss Xiao-Long." He stuttered.

"Yang." Ruby whined, "Stop teasing Oscar. Or is it Professor Pine now?" She said thoughtfully.

"So, professor." Yang said sultry, making him squirm even more. "Think you can… Give me some extra credits?" The blonde leaned closer towards him but was suddenly lifted into the air.

"Miss Xiao-Long." Professor Goodwitch said in a cold tone causing everyone to shiver. "Please refrain from making unnecessary contact with our staff."

"Y-yes, Professor Goodwitch."

"Good, now if you excuse me. I would like to have a word with your professor."

Team RWBY hurried out leaving Oscar alone with Professor Goodwitch. She opened her scroll and started tapping away before showing him something.

"What's this?"

"Your rating on your performance in teaching." She said. "After you finished teaching your class, the students immediately went into the school system and rated your performance. Take a look."

Full marks. With comments practically begging the school to let him keep teaching Grimm Studies. "W-wait, we have a rating system?!"

"Yes." She replied bluntly. "Headmaster Ozpin is also pleased with your performance. He'll have no mind in you continuing your lessons past the three-day periods."

"B-but, Professor Port…!"

His scroll rang and Oscar quickly answered it. Professor Port was on the line, wrestling with something in the water.

"My b-blub, boy! Blub blub… I see that, blub. Hold on!" Whatever was in the water stopped thrashing when he heard a sick cracking sound. Glynda didn't looked fazed and seemed very apathetic to the situation.

Professor Port steadied himself and readjusted his scroll. "My boy! I am so proud of you! In a single class, you conquered the hearts of your students and made them dedicated to your cause! Why, back in my day I…" A gigantic grimm emerged from the water and nearly took a bite out of the portly man, but it seemed that he was prepared for it.

"Haha! Not today!" Professor Port boasted as he pushed against the jaws of the beast that was trying to devour him. "I'll call you later! Keep up the good work!"

The scroll called ended leaving Oscar in a deep sense of crisis. Professor Goodwitch gently patted him on the head.

"He's not coming back for another week, isn't he?" Oscar asked regarding Professor Port. It was the Ozpin in him that knew.

"I would say, a few months. Professor Port tends to lose track of time when he is out hunting."

"…"

"Fear not Oscar, you will be paid for your services."

"That's not the point!" Oscar cried out.

* * *

**Call out to Professor Arc. Funny enough, this omake was part of a concept that I found too stupid and 'already done'. I took some snippets and added them here, cause rushed. **

**Oof. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. **

**I will be slowing down the updates a bit because RWBY Vol 7 will be out in a few months or weeks. I kinda wanna see what everyone is capable of.**

**This whole story is a bit tied down to the 'canon' RWBY series because of how I structured it. I also made it a little bit lighthearted in the meantime, but things can change.**

**Anyway, enjoy this short chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

"Aww! Look at them go!" Yang squealed as she records a video of Oscar teaching Ruby how to fight without her weapon. It looked like two kindergarteners trying to playfight.

Well… Mostly on Ruby's end.

Oscar is perfectly capable of hand-to-hand combat. Everyone is well aware of it during sparring, but currently; he's playing along with Ruby in their training session.

"Hya!" Ruby shouted as she reeled her fist back and drove it forward in an attempt to punch him. Oscar grinned and duck, allowing Ruby to slide past him.

"Wah!" Ruby cried out as she tried to regain her balance by flailing her arms around. This was very familiar to Oscar since they had sparred like this in his timeline. If we can remember, her next attack will be…

The crimson reaper tumbled forward and swung her right leg out, doing a low spin kick.

'_Yup!'_ Oscar thought as jumped and avoided the attack. He swung his fist at Ruby, allowing her to dodge it.

"You go Ruby!" Yang cheered, still recording the 'fight'; planning to send it to their father.

Yang and their father, Tai, had always noted on Ruby's crippling reliance on her weapon, Crescent Rose. Without it, she was practically useless. Now that Oscar was helping her out, they can rest a bit on that end.

"Can you two please, play somewhere else?" Weiss huffed as she inspects two different colored patches of cloth. "You're going to wreck our decorations."

"Hm, gonna have to agree with Weiss here," Yang said and stopped recording with her scroll. "We put too many efforts into the decorations for you two to wreck it."

"Ah, sorry," Oscar said meekly while scratching his head.

Blake stood several feet from Yang and held four balloons with a bland expression. The imagery was hilarious causing Oscar to chuckle and Blake to narrow her eyes at him.

"You can hold these, Oscar."

"I'm too old for balloons, Blake." Oscar laughed followed by Ruby and Yang.

Blake's face scrunched up. She raised a finger and slowly edged it towards one of the four balloons. This caused Yang to cease her laughter and glared at the cat faunus.

"Blake, don't you dare." She warned.

"Which doilies do you think is best on this occasion?" Weiss said as she ignored their shenanigans. This caused Yang to divert her attention to the heiress.

"Weiss, I thought we agreed about the doilies."

"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines." Weiss retorted.

"Your dance is going to have fog machines?" Neptune asked the moment he entered the room.

Sun walked beside him, but nearly tripped when he saw Blake holding the balloons with an unhappy expression.

"I know right?" Yang laughed at Sun's reaction. "Looks like hissy fit isn't enjoying her birthday party."

"It's not my birthday." Blake huffed and was extremely content on letting the balloons fly into the sky.

"So, uh… Blake. Are you going to the dance…?" Sun asked.

"Yes." Oscar said. Team RWBY, minus the B, echoed in unison with Oscar.

Blake opened her mouth but only a sigh escaped her lips. She glared at Oscar before forming a sinister smirk on her face. "Oscar, don't you have a playdate to attend to? Particularly with Ruby?"

"I-it's not a playdate!" He sputtered, face turning red.

"Blaaaake!" Ruby whined. "He's teaching me how to fight without my precious baby!"

"L-let's go with that." Oscar said hastily, mind twirling from Blake's surprising attack. "Besides, isn't Weiss going to teach Neptune how to dance today?"

Neptune and Weiss stared at Oscar with an incredulous expression.

Yang, Blake, and Sun raised an eyebrow clearly hearing this for the first time. Ruby, on the other hand, was bobbing her head up and down in agreement.

"Yeah! Nothing wrong with that!" Ruby cheered. "Uh, what were we talking about again?"

Neptune was frozen in place with that awkward smile while Weiss zoomed in on the two youngest members in the room with a cold expression.

"Where did you two hear that?" She hissed.

Ruby shrank back and shifted behind Oscar even though he was smaller than her. "We… Heard you guys talk about it."

"Where?"

"When you two were studying at the library." Ruby squeaked out. "It was Oscar's idea." She added in, throwing him into the line of fire even more.

"Ruby!" Oscar gasped, slightly shocked by her betrayal.

"You. Two. Eavesdropped on us?! I cannot believe you two-!"

"Whoa, ice queen. Chill." Yang cut in, putting her arms around Weiss's shoulder. "You're gonna scare away Bluebeard." Nodding at Neptune who was still in that stiff and awkward stance.

Weiss's eyes twitched a bit before she composed herself, in the same manner, she does in front of a respectful guest.

"Ruby Rose. Oscar Pine." She starts and took in the sadistic pleasure as she watches the two cowered in fear. "I am disappointed in you two. You both are the youngest prodigy of this respectable establishment, and yet you choose to engage in such acts of-"

"That's… Not what I meant Weiss." Yang said rolling her eyes. "You know what, let's get that private dance lesson started. Me, Blake, and Sun will help with the decorations."

"Wait, what?" Sun said with a questioning look. He didn't mind entirely since Blake is here, but he doesn't know a thing or two about decorating.

Blake on the other hand threw her hands in the air with an exasperated sigh.

"You will do no such thing." Weiss snapped. "I will not allow such boorish individuals to manage half of the preparations!" She said while glaring at Sun and Yang. She will admit that they are far from being 'boorish', but they obviously have a different taste in style.

As for Sun, it was blatantly obvious that the monkey faunus didn't have any of those judging by his open shirt and exposed abs.

"Oh Weiss." Yang said while leaning towards her ears. She whispered something while wiggling her eyebrow, implying something… Less appropriate. Weiss's face lit up bright red while Yang grinned savagely.

"W-wh-wh-what?! I cannot believe you!" Weiss yelped and pushed past Yang towards Neptune. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. "Come Neptune. We have a lesson to get to!"

"Assertive." Yang said while nodding sagely.

"Shut up!" Weiss shouted before slamming the door behind them, taking Neptune with her.

There was an awkward moment of silence before Blake spoke up.

"So… Are we going to put up the decorations, or are we just going to stand here all day? I mean, I could go back and investigate the Whi-"

"Decorations." Yang said firmly and dragged the two faunus away. While she dragged them towards the hallway, Yang glanced back at Oscar and Ruby. "You two, go play in the forest or something."

"Who made you leader?" Ruby pouted but started to make her way towards the exit. Oscar followed behind her but muttered his under his breath.

"We're not playing."

…

Oscar staggered as Ruby smashed her fist into his nose. He tipped back and fell on his bottom, hiding his grin as Ruby celebrated her first 'victory'. Of course, she knew that he was holding back, but that didn't stop her from cheering.

"Yes! I did it!" She cheered while raising both of her arms into the air. Ruby then groaned and lowered her arms, massaging them. "Let's call it a break Oscar. I think I don't think I can hold my baby in my current state."

"What do you want to do?" Oscar asked, picking himself up from the ground.

Ruby gave him a mischievous smile and scuffed the grass with her foot. "Well… I was wondering how Weiss is holding up with Neptune."

"We shouldn't antagonize her too much." Weiss, despite her demeanor, can be very kind and caring. It's not something he would like to lose.

"Fine." Ruby gave in and put on a thoughtful expression. "Huh, now that I think about it. How did you become Professor Ozpin's apprentice?"

"Oh. Uh…" Now that he thinks about it, they never conjured a story about how he became Ozpin's apprentice. Even though it was a cover story, it isn't far from the truth. "It… Sort of happened by chance. Ozpin saw some potential in me and took me under his tutelage."

"Huh. I was imagining something more dramatic. You know, like those old martial arts movies where the master would make students fight each other?"

"Um… I don't think I've ever watched those." He grew up on a far-out farmland where technology is limited. There's a television for news and such, but that one was barely used. "I grew up on a farm, and, uh… Was busying training under Ozpin. I never watched any movies."

Ruby gasped in horror at his statement. "Never? You never watched any movies?!"

"Uh… Yes?" Oscar said meekly.

"I know what we must do!" She grabbed him by the arms and pulled him towards her dorm. "Come, Oscar! I must enlighten you in the way of modern and classic cinemas!"

As Ruby dragged Oscar towards the dormitories, they were intercepted by three familiar figures. Unpleasant, familiar figures.

"Oh?" Purred Cinder. "If it isn't two of Beacon's youngest and brightest students." The large hallway suddenly became very small to Oscar as Cinder closes in along on them along with Mercury and Emerald.

'_Don't panic. She won't do anything here.' _Oscar though in his mind.

Ruby, the slightly naïve and shy girl she is responded bashfully. "Oh, um, thank you! I'm not very that bright though… I failed Professor Oobleck's test and the only thing I did to that got Ozpin to allow me to attend Beacon Academy was because I tried to stop Roman Torchwick. You know, the guy with orange hair on the news-"

"We are very well aware of who Roman Torchwick is." Cinder interrupted her incessant ramblings. "I don't believe I have either of your names."

'_Nooo…' _Oscar mentally groaned.

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose." She glanced over towards Oscar noticing that he has taken refuge behind her. "And this shy one is Oscar Pine! He's Ozpin's apprentice." She loudly whispered the last part.

"Ruby! Why?" Oscar cried out. Cinder probably already knew with her resources, but he didn't want her to confirm it!

"Sorry Oscar, but I won't let you stray down the same socially awkward path that I've been in!"

The villainous trio had an amused look on their faces while they watch Oscar and Ruby bicker. Cinder decided to let them go. It would be rude to interrupt their moment at this time, not to mention annoying with their young pubescent voice.

"Well, we'll leave you two on your little date."

"Wait, what?" They both paused and stared at Cinder confused.

"Oh dear." Cinder laughed as she walked away.

Emerald and Mercury followed suit, each giving their own form of goodbyes. Oscar and Ruby stood in the middle of the hallway for a few seconds before Ruby resumed dragging him away.

"Did you get what she said, Oscar?" She asked. They didn't catch the second last line before Cinder left.

"Something about the dance?" He said halfheartedly, happy to be away from Cinder and her underlings.

…

"You're doing well, Neptune." Weiss praised as they finished their dance lessons.

Neptune grinned and bowed at Weiss, earning Neptune the heiress's giggle.

"It's all because of you, snow angel. You have my sincerest gratitude." He said smoothly.

"You are most welcomed." She returned as they exit the room. "So… Neptune."

"What's up?"

"I know this might be a bit unorthodox, but… Would you… Like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?"

"Me?" Neptune blinked, surprised.

Weiss and Neptune surprisingly hit it off during the White Fang investigation. Their small talks eventually turned into something personal; Neptune on his personal insecurities, hence his false 'cool' and 'chill' attitude, and Weiss with her multitude of problems.

Despite all of this, and her eagerness in helping him learn how to dance. He wasn't expecting her to ask him out to the dance.

"Are… You fine with me being your dance partner?" He said slowly.

In his opinion, Weiss is a strong individual. Going against her abusive father's wishes, putting up with cold and distant family members, the list goes on.

And what does he have? Just some self-doubt. Someone like her shouldn't be going with someone like him.

But Weiss had a different opinion. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"Well…"

"Is it because of me?"

"No!" Neptune quickly said. "That's not it. It's… More of…"

"You're not good enough for me?" She said with an annoyed expression.

"I… You said that, not me."

Weiss rolled her eyes and blocked his path. She lifted a finger towards his face and gave him a stern expression. "Look, Neptune. I understand that you are dealing with low self-esteem, and you are concerned about my 'image'…"

"I…"

"But this 'image' isn't what I wanted. It's what my father and all those unsavory stockholders want! My 'image' is false! False like my father's 'caring' personality, which goes as far as the SDC's profit! So, don't go thinking that you're not good enough for me. I asked you out to the dance because I think you're good enough." She huffed.

"Dang." Someone said from behind a large bush.

Weiss and Neptune snapped their attention towards the bush and noticed a yellowish tail slightly poking out.

"Sun?"

Sun popped out from the bushes and laughed nervously. "Eh-heh. We were just passing by."

"Crouch behind a bush." Said Neptune as he crossed his arms with an unamused expression. Weiss also shared a similar expression, though it was slightly angrier. It intensified when two more figures revealed themselves.

"Nice going, Sun." Yang said with a small pouty expression. She was holding her scroll and was tapping away at it. "At least we got a good few seconds of Weiss ranting."

"You mean having a meltdown." Said Blake as she punched Sun on the arm.

"Ow, sorry." He said.

"Okay. First, there was Ruby and Oscar. Now you three-"

"Oh, will you look at the time!" Yang interrupted and glanced at the clock on her scroll. "Free period, gotta get moving!"

The blonde made a mad dash towards the main building. Blake and Sun followed suit though each one took their own path. Blake went over the maze of bushes while Sun took to the trees.

"Blake! Yang! Come back here!" Weiss shouted after them. "Neptune, help me track down your 'friend' I'll deal with my teammates."

"O-okay."

…

"Ozpin, I talked with the security experts about the flaws in the Atlesian Knight-200. They determined that there is, in fact, a critical flaw in the model. Particularly in the control system. Unfortunately, it will be a while before a security update can be implemented to address those issues."

General Ironwood laid out the report on Ozpin's desk with a stoic expression. Ozpin read the highlighted parts of the report that Ironwood graciously marked.

"I see. Is there a reason why such a critical security flaw is left nearly undetected in something as important as this?"

Ironwood growled. Not at Ozpin, but at Atlas's council and the influence of powerful corporation that dictates some of Atlas's military and political decision making.

"I can think of two major reasons why it came down to this. One is that the Atlesian Knight-200 is a new model and hasn't been officially deployed, yet. The second is the influence of the company that's been manufacturing these models. Let's just say that they are impatient…"

Ozpin grunted and stood up from his seat. "Very well, there is no point in being detrimental to the issue currently. I presume that you will keep me up to date on this issue?"

"Naturally." Ironwood nodded as they walked towards the elevator.

The two headmasters descended and made their way towards the dance hall. One of them will make their way towards the CCT Tower later, but in the meantime, the tower was being guarded by Atlas's specialists and soldiers.

The increased security was done in response to the break-in and hacking of the CCT that was supposed to happen during the dance. At least, that was how the break-in occurred in Oscar's timeline.

Of course, Ironwood and Ozpin would have set a trap for their enemies in an attempt to capture the perpetrator, but the issue with the White Fang at Mountain Glenn required some specialists and more personnel on hand since the Atlesian Knights are not to be deployed until the security issue has been fixed.

The increased presence was well noted by the media, somehow, and that would obviously put their enemies on guard. Leaving the CCT Tower slightly protected might cause suspicion, thus muddling things for poor Oscar.

That logic was a long shot, but at the same time; the Atlesian Knights are disabled, so their enemies wouldn't really have much of a reason to try to break into the CCT Tower.

"My specialists and soldiers will be guarding the CCT Tower tonight. It was an oversight, but their presence might have deterred potential break-ins…"

"Indeed, but at very least they will not have access to such a vital network during these unmonitored times. We can think of a plan to catch the perpetrator later. Remember to keep an eye on these… Three students, though I believe there was a fourth to keep track of." Ozpin said in a low voice.

Ironwood nodded. The three or four names to keep track of is Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, and… Mint?

Now that they think about it, they haven't seen the fourth member yet. That's concerning.

Oscar had his suspicion, but even he was uncertain about their fourth member. Something about a Neo girl.

Regardless, the staff will be keeping an eye out. But for now, they will try to enjoy the dance that Team RWBY planned out yesterday.

"Curse these lady stilts!" A familiar voice could be heard shouting nearby.

* * *

**Omake:**

"So… Oscar. What is all of this paperwork doing here?" Ruby asked as she inspects the tinted red and purple sheets of paper that occupied Oscar's desk.

Oscar, on the other hand, was furiously making two stacks out of the disorganized mess.

"These documents are the 'shipping' that has or was supposed to occur in this week's episode. I was playing matchmaker, but I forgot there was paperwork to file afterward. I regret my decision."

"I… Have no idea what you just said, but I will help you!" Ruby declared and pulled up a chair to sit beside him.

"Thanks, Ruby." Oscar said as he read the titles out loud. "Weiss and Neptune… Oh, the purple ones go on that pile. They're the matchmaking that hasn't officially started. The red ones are the ones that started. Sun and Blake… Huh, this one is a reddish-purple… I'll set this one over here."

"Hey, this one has Professor Glynda and General Ironwood on it! Huh, I didn't know she had it in her. Then again… This is Ironwood." Ruby placed the paper onto the 'purple' pile.

Oscar finished sorting out the red ones and focused on the purple ones. "Let's see… Adam and Sienna? Okay… Illa and Blake? Ah, that might explain a lot… Ruby and… Eek!"

He crumbled the paper with Ruby's name on it and hide it in his coat. Ruby snapped her head at Oscar, eyes wide.

"Is that…"

"That was someone else named Ruby." Oscar quickly said.

"Ookay… Hey! This one's Professor Ozpin and… Salem?"

Oscar choked on his salvia. "Wait, what?!" He leaned over and stared at the document. "Oh boy…"

…

"Salem."

"Ozpin."

Two ancient, powerful figures sat at a small round table in a 'romantic' themed restaurant. There was even a vase of flowers at the far-left side of the table.

Oscar is currently dressed as a waiter uniform and Ruby the waitress. They hugged their silver tray to their chest protectively as Ozpin/Ozma and Salem stared each other down.

"So… How have you been?" Ozma started.

"Alive and well. I assure you."

"Hm, what a shame."

"Indeed, the same could be said to you." Salem shot back.

Ruby leaned over and whispered to Oscar. "I see the problem now. Why are they trying to get back together when they look like they're going to destroy the entire restaurant?"

Oscar whispered back. "I don't know."

'_Seriously? How did it come to this?!'_

The bell behind them rang, signaling that the food is ready. Ruby jumped to the chance instantly to get away from the ensuing drama.

"Food's ready! I got it!" She said and used her semblance to temporarily escape the tension between Ozma and Salem.

"Ruby, don't leave me!" Oscar furiously whispered.

Fortunately, it seemed that Ozma and Salem were intently glaring at one another to take notice of the background event. The argument was starting to get heated as well.

"I had no choice Salem. You were displaying destructive behaviors. Not to mention you weren't listening to any of my reasonings. So, I did the most sensible thing and decided to leave."

"And you didn't listen to mine. So, you decided to leave; _taking the children with you_." Salem hissed near the end of her sentence.

Oscar took a sharp breath, knowing what she meant by 'taking the children' with him.

"Bold words." Ozma said coldly. The lights in the room started to flicker as the two snarling at each other.

"Thank you for waiting!" Ruby burst in carrying two plates of steak and herbs. She swiftly placed them onto the table and returned to her original position beside Oscar.

"Thank you, dearie." Salem said as she picked up her knife and slowly sliced at the steak.

"Indeed, you have my appreciation. Miss Rose." Ozma followed suit with his.

Ruby and Oscar breathed out a sigh of relief as the situation was temporarily defused. They'll be in this throughout the whole night.

The whole night. Watching over Ozma and Salem…

"Oh, Monty Oum. Please watch over us." Oscar prayed.

* * *

**NOTES:**

**Okay, so I had a heartwarming flashback about with Weiss and Neptune... But I lost it somewhere during the power outage, so be smart and always save your documents!**

**Sadly, this caused the scene between Weiss and Neptune to be 'rushed'. Gah!**

**I _HATE_ how this story is tied down to the 'canon' storyline of RWBY. Which is why at this chapter onward I will try my best to diverge the story line. **

**IMPORTANT! **

**Grammar. I am trying out several services (free, of course) to try and minimized my grammar and spelling mistakes. I know I suck when it comes to grammar, but bear with me on that one. **

**OTHER STORIES! **

**Yes, I have one or two chapters/concepts if you haven't notice a few more stories being added in. The problem is that the concepts are mostly like broken puzzles with some pieces that are 'extras' and its difficult to construct a well thoughtout story when its been a while since I last touch them.**

**That said, hope you guys enjoy all my work.**


	7. Discontinued

Hi followers of this story,

I am terribly sorry for doing this, but I will be discontinuing this story in favor of a rebooted version in the form of "Time-Crossed Boy". The characters and plot got out of hand, and I did not like the direction it was going. So, I will no longer be working on this.

Anyway, I would recommend reading "Time-Crossed Boy" seeing how it'll take place near the beginning of Volume 1 instead of 2. A pity Starlight's Poet beat me to this.


End file.
